Dalai Lama says Trust will decide his reincarnation, rules out China's role

The institution of the Dalai Lama will continue with the Gaden Phodrang Trust overseeing the traditional succession process, says Tibetan spiritual leader ahead of 90th birthday

Ahead of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama has once again publicly reaffirmed that the authority to recognise his reincarnation rests solely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust established by him, not with any external political power, including China.

 

In a statement released on Tuesday, July 1, the Buddhist leader said the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue, following widespread appeals from Tibetan communities and Buddhist practitioners across Asia.

 

“I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said. “I have received messages from Tibetans in Tibet and abroad, as well as from followers of Tibetan Buddhism across the Himalayan region, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, and even mainland China.”

 

China wants authority to choose next Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama, born Lhamo Dhondup in 1935, was identified at the age of two through a traditional process involving visions, omens, and ritual testing. That same process, embedded in the Buddhist belief, has been challenged by China, which claims it holds final authority over all reincarnations of Tibetan religious figures.

 

“In order (for the) Chinese government to take responsibility for reincarnation in general, particularly me, first, Chinese communists should accept the theory of rebirth,” the Dalai Lama had remarked in 2017. 

 

Gaden Phodrang Trust to oversee succession

In today's statement, the Dalai Lama referenced a 2011 meeting, where he had already outlined the succession process. In that statement, he said the responsibility for identifying a future Dalai Lama would rest exclusively with the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the official body associated with his office, and would involve consultation with senior lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and other established spiritual mechanisms. 

 

 

He reiterated, “The Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter.” 

China's claims on Dalai Lama tradition

The Chinese government passed the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 in 2007, which requires all reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist lamas—including the Dalai Lama—to be approved by the Communist Party. This law gives the government full authority over a centuries-old religious tradition, stating that reincarnations must follow a process of search and identification within China, lot-drawing from a golden urn, and final approval by the central government.

 

In a March 2025 press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated Beijing’s hardline position on the Dalai Lama, describing him as “a political exile engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion” and asserting that “he has absolutely no right to represent the people in Xizang" -- the official Chinese name for Tibet. Mao also stated that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese law.  In 1995, China had appointed Gyaincain Norbu as the Panchen Lama—the Buddhist figure traditionally responsible for helping identify the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation—but his appointment was rejected by most Tibetan Buddhists, who see him as a state-imposed figure lacking spiritual legitimacy.