India: Dalai Lama prepares to announce succession plans
Il Dalai Lama will address a major three-day gathering of more than 100 Buddhist religious leaders in McLeod Ganj, India, this week, where he may announce plans for his succession, Agenzia Nova reports.
According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Dalai Lamas are reincarnated to continue their spiritual mission. The Dalai Lama, who lives in Dharamshala, India, and who turns 90 on Sunday, has said he will discuss with senior monks whether he might be reincarnated in India, and that the meeting may provide clues about where to find his future male or female successor.
This week’s event, the first of its kind since 2019, will include a video message from the spiritual leader and appearances by actor Richard Gere, a well-known Tibetan supporter.
The Dalai Lama will attend public prayers on July 5 and his birthday celebrations the following day, when he is scheduled to deliver a speech lasting about half an hour. Representatives of the Indian government, including the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, are also expected to attend.
In an interview in December, the Dalai Lama said he felt well and could live to be 110. China considers the Dalai Lama, who has been in exile since 1959 after a failed uprising in Tibet, a separatist leader and says it has the authority to choose his successor. But the Tibetan spiritual leader has repeatedly said his reincarnation will take place outside China and has called on his followers to reject any figure Beijing suggests.
Earlier, it was reported that South Korea will join the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana in September.
