Gaden Phodrang Trust has the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Wednesday issued a strong affirmation that the institution would continue after his death. The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso also listed the process of locating the re-incarnation of the next Dalai Lama saying the Gaden Phodrang Trust has the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation.
“I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he said in a statement issued after prayer celebrations for his 90th birthday
The announcement comes on the day Buddhist scholars and monks from the world over have converged at McLeodganj for a three-day conference starting today.
The decision on the future of continuation of the institution of Dalai Lama was to be made when the present Dalai Lama turned 90 years of age on July 6.
Dalai Lama said that on September 24, 2011, at a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions, he made a statement to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan Buddhism, and those who have a connection with Tibet and Tibetans, regarding whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue.
“I stated, “As far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the future.”
“I also said, “When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, to re-evaluate whether or not the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue.”
“Although I have had no public discussions on this issue, 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 with reasons, earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue. In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.
“The process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognized has been clearly established in the 24 September 2011 statement which states that responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with 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 linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition,” he wrote.
Dalai Lama’s statement was a landmark decision for Tibetans, many of whom had feared a future without a leader, China, however, said the successor must be “approved by the Chinese government.”
Hours after the Tibetan spiritual leader ruled out Beijing’s authority in picking the 15th Dalai Lama, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told media persons that “the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn, and approved by the central government.”
“The Chinese government implements a policy of freedom of religious belief, but there are regulations on religious affairs and methods for managing the reincarnation of Tibetan living Buddhas,” Mao was quoted as saying
