Dalai Lama’s new book says he will be born outside Tibet, China

The Dalai Lama in his new book “Voice of the Voiceless” has for the first time clearly stated that he will reincarnate outside China or Tibet. He has stated in the book that he will be born in a free world to ensure that the institute of the Dalai Lama continues in its traditional role, advocating rights and protecting spiritual leadership. The book has once again brought spotlight on his reincarnation.

With the present 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the temporal and spiritual head or the god king of Tibetans going to be 90 this year and concerns being expressed about his health, the issue of reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama is casting apprehensions among of the Tibetan community in exile.

Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) spokesperson Tenzin Lekshay today said that his reincarnation was the sole discretion of the Dalai Lama, who over the past many years had said that if the situation in Tibet remained unresolved, he would not reincarnate in Tibet and China.

In the recent past, the Dalai Lama had written a book and wrote about his reincarnation. China over the past one decade had been pressing upon the legitimacy of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. However, reincarnation is a unique Tibetan Buddhist tradition. China being a communist regime has no historical authority over the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. A Chinese foreign ministry official had recently said that the Dalai Lama had no role to play in his reincarnation. However, the sole legitimate authority of his reincarnation rests with the Dalai Lama himself, Tenzin said.

The first concern of Tibetans is that China may try to control the institution by installing its own Dalai Lama, while the other is shaking the faith of the young community of Tibetans in-exile in the institution.