Tibet’s highest religious leader, the Dalai Lama, has just celebrated his 89th birthday, raising questions about what his succession plan will be.
Tibet has a history of fighting for independence against China, and who replaces the Dalai Lama will have large consequences for many people.
Tibetan Buddhism expert John Powers unpacks the succession of the Dalai Lama on The Briefing:
The 14th Dalai Lama is prophesied that he’ll live to 111. Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lama will be reincarnated.
“When one Dalai Lama dies, there is a very rigorous search procedure that is run according to traditional methods,” said expert John Powers.
There’s a sacred lake in Tibet where search parties would normally go and to look for visions and divination.
The latest search party have predicted the next Dalai Lama will be born in Amdo. This is in an area near Khumbu in the main monastery.
“The search party saw an image in this lake of a house with a turquoise roof. They saw a young boy and a dog standing in the front yard,” he said.
“He’s hinted on several occasions that he might be reborn in Arunachal Pradesh in northern India, which is where the sixth Dalai Lama was born. And this would really anger the Chinese”
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