Dalai Lama Defies China, Says Only His Office Will Choose Next Reincarnation
Ahead of his 90th birthday on July 6, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has made it clear that the Gaden Phodrang Trust—the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India—has the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation.
“No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” read a statement issued by the 14th Dalai Lama.
Recalling a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions held on September 24, 2011, the Dalai Lama said he had addressed fellow Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan Buddhism, and all those connected with Tibet on the question of whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue.
“As far back as 1969, I made it clear that the concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the future,” he said.
He also declared that when he reached the age of around ninety, he would consult the high lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and others who follow Tibetan Buddhism to re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue.
While no formal public discussion has yet taken place, the Dalai Lama stated: “Over the last 14 years, leaders of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, participants in a Special General Body Meeting, members of the Central Tibetan Administration, NGOs, Buddhists from the Himalayan region, Mongolia, Buddhist republics of the Russian Federation, and Buddhists in Asia—including mainland China—have written to me, earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue.”
He affirmed that the institution will indeed continue, citing messages received through various channels from Tibetans inside Tibet expressing the same appeal.
The September 24, 2011, meeting also established the process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognized. According to him, the meeting concluded that the responsibility lies exclusively with the members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are inseparably linked to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition,” the statement read.
It may be pointed out that the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), is a democratic governance body based in Dharamshala, India, representing the interests of Tibetans in exile. Established in 1959 after the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the CTA operates from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India—often called “Little Lhasa.”
The CTA is not recognized as a sovereign government by any country, but it functions as the legitimate representative of Tibetan exiles around the world.
The Dalai Lama’s remarks come in direct defiance of China, which has rejected the notion that the Gaden Phodrang Trust should determine the reincarnation. Beijing insists that only the Chinese state can approve religious leaders and says it will enforce the Golden Urn system, a Qing dynasty ritual historically used to select high-ranking lamas.
Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama
(Translated from the original Tibetan)
On 24 September 2011, at a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions, I made a statement to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan… pic.twitter.com/VqtBUH9yDm
— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) July 2, 2025
