Dalai Lama at 90: Who Will Succeed Him? Tibet's Future vs China's Interference

Asianet News English

Watch the full story of the 14th Dalai Lama, his extraordinary journey from a small village in Tibet to becoming a global icon of peace, compassion, and resistance. As he turns 90 on July 6, the Tibetan spiritual leader finally confirms that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue—despite China’s attempts to control the reincarnation process.  China vs Tibet  Beijing insists it will name the next Dalai Lama—sparking global outrage and fear of a puppet Dalai Lama to cement control over the Tibetan plateau. But the 14th Dalai Lama has made it clear: only the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust—his official office—has the right to choose his successor.  Will the Next Dalai Lama Be Born in a Free Country?  Could the 15th Dalai Lama come from Mongolia, India, or even the West? This video explores the deeply spiritual and politically charged process of Tibetan Buddhist reincarnation and the global stakes of the next chapter in this centuries-old tradition.  #DalaiLama #Tibet #China #DalaiLama90 #FreeTibet #Geopolitics #India #World  🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE  For More Updates:  English: https://newsable.asianetnews.com/  Hindi: https://hindi.asianetnews.com/  Malayalam: https://www.asianetnews.com/  Kannada: https://kannada.asianetnews.com/  Tamil: https://tamil.asianetnews.com/  Telugu: https://telugu.asianetnews.com/  Bengali: https://bangla.asianetnews.com/  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsianetNewsa...  Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AsianetNewsEN  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ann.newsable/  ➡ If you like our video, give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel to get the daily dosage of news, entertainment, sports and more.

Transcript

00:00The school of ひなりんししさで

00:04じじぎゅうき

00:07みろまつじみゅうきとね

00:11だってひなりんししこぐどうせね

00:13たししゃよな

00:15でたがたししゃしわかだ

00:30July 6, 2025

00:46A landmark day not just for Tibetans

00:50but for millions across the world.

00:53His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

00:55the revered symbol of compassion,

00:58peace and resistance turns 90.

01:02His journey from a village in the Tibet

01:04to the halls of the Nobel Peace Prize

01:07is one of faith, exile, resilience

01:11and global spiritual leadership.

01:16But behind the celebrations

01:17lies a growing anxiety.

01:20Tibet's future remains uncertain

01:23and so does the future

01:26of the Dalai Lama institution itself.

01:33Born on July 6, 1935

01:35to a farming family

01:37in the village of Takser,

01:39he was just two

01:40when High Lamas identified him

01:42as the reincarnation

01:44of the 13th Dalai Lama.

01:46He was given a name

01:48as long as his destiny.

01:50Jetsun Jomphel Engawang

01:53Lobsang Yeshi

01:54Tenzin Gyatso

01:55Holy Lord, Gentle Glory

01:58Compassionate, Defender of the Faith

02:01and Ocean of Wisdom

02:03Taken to the thousand-room Potala Palace

02:07in Lhasa,

02:08he was trained in Buddhist philosophy,

02:10metaphysics and governance.

02:12But childhood ended abruptly

02:15in 1950

02:16when the Chinese army

02:18invaded Tibet.

02:20At just 15,

02:21he was enthroned

02:22as head of state.

02:25Nine years later,

02:26on March 10, 1959,

02:29a massive uprising

02:30erupted in Lhasa.

02:32It was crushed.

02:33The Dalai Lama fled.

02:35It took him

02:3713 harrowing days

02:39to cross the Himalayas.

02:41He reached India,

02:42never to return to Tibet.

02:47In the quiet hill town

02:49of Dharamsala,

02:50the Dalai Lama rebuilt

02:51his shattered nation in exile.

02:55Thousands of Tibetans followed.

02:57They preserved language,

02:59rituals,

03:00culture

03:01and above all,

03:02hope.

03:03He launched

03:04a global campaign for Tibet,

03:06not demanding independence,

03:08but seeking a middle way,

03:10genuine autonomy

03:11under Chinese sovereignty.

03:14His moral authority grew.

03:16In 1989,

03:17he was awarded

03:18the Nobel Peace Prize

03:19for advocating

03:20reconciliation

03:22despite brutal oppression.

03:25Clad in maroon robes,

03:27simple sandals

03:28and wide-rimmed glasses,

03:30he became

03:31an unlikely celebrity.

03:33His mischief and humour

03:36were magnetic.

03:37Once,

03:38he even joked

03:39that he might reincarnate

03:40as a blonde woman.

03:43But Beijing remained unmoved,

03:45branding him a separatist

03:47and a wolf

03:49in monks' robes.

03:50He is more than a spiritual icon.

03:54The Dalai Lama

03:55is a philosopher,

03:57an environmentalist,

03:58a peacemaker.

04:00He has authored

04:01dozens of books

04:02on meditation,

04:03ethics,

04:04politics,

04:05happiness

04:06and even science.

04:07Forbid U.N.

04:08Forbid U.N.

04:10Forbid U.N.

04:11Forbid U.N.

04:41With his 90th birthday, the world awaited his decision.

05:07Would there be a 15 Dalai Lama?

05:10That answer has now arrived.

05:14The Dalai Lama announced on July 2nd that the 600-year-old Tibetan spiritual institution

05:21will continue after his death, a landmark reassurance for Tibetans in exile and Buddhist followers worldwide.

05:30He said his office, the India-based Gaden Fortrang Trust, would have exclusive responsibility

05:39for identifying his successor, even as China insisted it would.

05:45The Dalai Lama announced on July 2nd, which is the first time he was born in the U.S.

05:50and the first time he was born in the U.S., the first time he was born in the U.S.

05:57and the first time he was born in the U.S.

06:01The Dalai Lama announced on July 2nd, which was the first time he was born in the U.S.

06:19He said he had received countless appeals over the past 14 years from Tibetans in exile, across

06:40the Himalayas, from Mongolia, Russia, China and even from within Tibet, urging him to let

06:47the institution continue.

06:50China, meanwhile, reiterated its claim.

06:53The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must be approved by the central government.

06:59It says this would involve drawing lots from a golden urn, a method Beijing insists upon,

07:05but the Dalai Lama calls spiritually hollow.

07:12How do you identify the reincarnation of a spiritual leader?

07:16The process is part faith, part mysticism, part ritual.

07:22Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of Avalokiteshwara, the Bodhisattva

07:29of Compassion.

07:30The current Dalai Lama was chosen after passing tests, recognizing objects of his predecessor

07:37as a toddler.

07:39Other methods include consulting oracles, especially Ni-Chang, a trance medium of protected deity

07:47Do-je-drak-den, reading signs and visions such as rainbows or dreams, divination rituals,

07:55dreams inside door balls.

07:58The golden urn, a practice enforced by Chinese emperors and now controversially held by Beijing.

08:05Some Dalai Lamas were hidden during turbulent times.

08:09One pretended to be on retreat for 15 years.

08:13Another wore eye shadow to impersonate the deceased leader for visitors.

08:18Secrecy has always protected authenticity.

08:22Now it must shield against political manipulation.

08:27Interestingly, the Dalai Lama earlier said he will leave clear written instructions for the

08:33future.

08:34But he has alternatively suggested his successor could be a girl or an insect or that his spirit

08:41could transfer or emanate to an adult.

08:48In Dharamshala and beyond, Tibetans reflect with pride and worry.

08:53For nearly 90 years, the Dalai Lama has served as a symbol.

08:58But to those closest to him, he remains a humble monk.

09:03His long-time translator Thupten Jinpa describes the importance of the Dalai Lama.

09:09The idea of a world where there is no Dalai Lama is almost unthinkable.

09:17And I know for a fact that he has received petitions from across the Tibetan Buddhist world,

09:22including some from inside Tibet in a confidential way.

09:26And then when we think of the Dalai Lama, it is important to think beyond the Tibetan people.

09:32Because the Tibetan Buddhism covers a massive amount of space.

09:37From a nationhood perspective, it is confined to the Tibetan people.

09:41But from a religious, spiritual perspective, it goes way beyond the Tibetan borders.

09:46So I think there is a lot of stake, not just for the Tibetans, but also for entire community

09:52in these regions to make sure that the name Dalai Lama and the institution continues.

09:59So in some sense, the Dalai Lama institution is like the papal institution for the Tibetan Buddhist world.

10:05My hope is that, you know, before his birthday, on July the 6th, his all-in-his-will issue a formal statement.

10:13Now, if my guess is right, and if he says that the continuity of the institution will remain,

10:20which means then there will be a new Dalai Lama after he's gone.

10:23Personally, I don't think it's going to work.

10:26Because a large part of the power of the institution and its mystique is precisely because of that system

10:37of finding a new child from completely—I mean, the present Dalai Lama was born to a peasant family.

10:44His parents were uneducated, illiterate.

10:47I mean, that is the beauty of the system.

10:50Pension Lama that they have chosen, everybody calls the Chinese pension and false pension.

10:55Same thing will happen.

10:57You know, the loyalty is to here, and nothing China does can actually shift that.

11:04They can suppress, they can ban—you know, the current Dalai Lama's photographs are banned into that.

11:10They can ban, they can force, but you can never change people's heart.

11:17What's in the heart belongs to the individual.

11:20As he turns 90, the Dalai Lama's body grows frail, but his voice, his mission, his message remains unshaken.

11:33He has said he wants to live to 113 years.

11:38But more importantly, he wants the Tibetan identity, faith, and dream to outlive him.

11:46Tibetans wait.

11:48The world watches.

11:50China hovers.

11:52But the next Dalai Lama, if he or she is to be found, will come not from force, but from faith.

12:02China hovers.

12:08China hovers.

12:09China hovers.

12:10China hovers.

12:11China hovers.

12:12China hovers.

12:13China hovers.

12:14China hovers.

12:15China hovers.

12:16China hovers.

12:17China hovers.

12:18China hovers.

12:19China hovers.

12:20China hovers.

12:21China hovers.

12:22China hovers.

12:23China hovers.

12:24China hovers.

12:25China hovers.

12:26China hovers.

12:28China hovers.

12:29China hovers.

12:30China hovers.

Category

Transcript

Recommended