15th Dalai Lama: Will Tenzin Gyatso name successor on his 90th birthday?

Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso's, recent reassurance regarding his health has addded to the growing speculation regarding his continuity as the spiritual leader and the head of the Tibetan Buddhists or his decision to name a successor. The public talk around the appointment of the 15th Dalai Lama has grown evert since Tenzin Gyatso (the incumbent spiritual head) underwent a knee surgery in New York earlier this year.

"According to my dream, I may live 110 years," the Dalai Lama said when asked about his health and how he was feeling.

This reply has become familiar to those who have closely followed the Nobel laureate, as he has been offering similar assurances for years.

The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959, following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Since then, he has led the Tibetan government-in-exile and maintained his spiritual leadership for Tibetan Buddhists. Beijing, however, insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama, on the other hand, has maintained that his reincarnation could be found in India, and warned that any successor chosen by China would not be respected by his followers.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that learned monastics are reincarnated after death as newborns. Thus, the question of his successor has remained central to the community's future. His prediction of living for another two decades is a comfort to his followers, though many still seek clarity on how the transition will unfold.

Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, which is also based in Dharamshala, noted that more clarity on the Dalai Lama's succession could come when he turns 90 in July. "We are just lay people, we can't fathom his wisdom, so we are waiting for his clear guidance," Teykhang told Reuters in her office, which is located about 2 km (1.5 miles) from the Dalai Lama's residence.