Thupten Ngodup, Tibet’s chief state oracle, said typically such discussions on the reincarnation do not take place when a monk is still alive but things are different now, mainly because the “Chinese government is interfering”.
Beijing said in March that the Dalai Lama was a political exile who had “no right to represent the Tibetan people at all”. China has said it is open to discussing his future if he recognises that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China, a proposal the Tibetan government in exile has rejected.
“AS IF HE’S NOT THERE”
The religious conference this week, being held for the first time since 2019, will be attended by more than 100 Tibetan Buddhist leaders and will feature a video statement from the Dalai Lama.
Hollywood star Richard Gere, a long-time follower of Tibetan Buddhism, will be among those attending, organisers have said.
The Dalai Lama will attend prayers called by the Tibetan government in exile on Jul 5 and participate in his birthday celebrations a day later, according to a schedule shared by the organisers.
He will speak at the celebrations for about half an hour. India’s parliamentary affairs minister, Kiren Rijiju, and some other Indian officials are expected to attend.
Tibetans have been praying for his long health, especially since knee surgery in the United States last year, although the Dalai Lama told Reuters in December that he could live until he was 110. The previous Dalai Lama died earlier than expected at 58.
The Dalai Lama and Tibetan officials say there is a system in place for the government-in-exile to continue its political work while officers of the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Foundation search and recognise the next Dalai Lama.
The current Dalai Lama set up the foundation in 2015 and its senior officers include several of his aides.
Teykhang and other Tibetan officials said the Dalai Lama has been preparing his people for the day when he is gone, especially through his 2011 decision to hand his political role to a democratically elected government, ending a 368-year-old tradition of being both spiritual and temporal head of Tibetans.
“Since he has come in the form of a human, we have to agree that there will be a moment when he is not with us,” said Teykhang. “His Holiness has really prepared us for that day, he made us act as if he’s not there.”
