Who will be next Dalai Lama? Tibetan leader set to detail succession
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is preparing to address one of the most sensitive questions in global religion and geopolitics: who will succeed him.
Ahead of his 90th birthday on July 6, he is expected to outline a framework for identifying his reincarnation, a decision that carries religious significance and political implications for Tibetans and the Chinese government.
Newsweek has broken down everything you need to know about who the next Dalai Lama might be and the selection process.
What to know
The Dalai Lama will participate in a series of events this week, including a major gathering of Buddhist leaders, in what Tibetan officials say will be a crucial moment for the future of their religious leadership.
The 14th Dalai Lama turns 90 on Sunday and is expected to give his clearest signal yet on how his reincarnation will be determined at the event in Dharamshala, India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
“There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas,” he said during recent prayers, according to Reuters.
“The rest of my life I will dedicate for the benefit of others, as much as possible, as extensive as possible.”
Senior Tibetan monks, exiled officials, Indian leaders and international supporters, including actor Richard Gere, will gather for prayers and discussion.
For followers of Tibetan Buddhism, the succession of the Dalai Lama is a sacred process governed by centuries of tradition.
For Beijing, it is an opportunity to assert control over the narrative and future of Tibet.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly warned his followers to reject any successor appointed by China, insisting that his own reincarnation will be found outside the country - likely in India, home to the largest Tibetan exile community.
Why are China and the Dalai Lama at odds?
The announcement comes amid renewed attention to the power struggle between the Tibetan exile movement and the Chinese state, with Beijing saying it intends to choose the next Dalai Lama, a move widely seen as an attempt to solidify its grip on Tibet.
The Dalai Lama, however, has said that his successor will be born outside China and has urged his followers to disregard any appointment made by the Chinese Communist Party.
“China is trying to grab this institution...for its political purpose,” Dolma Tsering Teykhang, deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said, adding that Beijing is “trying to frame rules and regulations on how to have the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in their hand.
“We want the incarnation of the Dalai Lama to be born not only for the survival of Tibet as a distinct culture, religion and nation, but also for the well-being of the whole humanity.”
The dispute over succession is rooted in China’s decades-long campaign to control Tibetan religious institutions. Since annexing Tibet in the 1950s, Beijing has insisted that all reincarnations of high lamas-including the Dalai Lama-must receive government approval. This policy has been used to suppress Tibetan identity and reinforce Chinese political authority in the region.
China’s stance is not just symbolic. In 1995, Beijing detained a 6-year-old boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism. The child has not been seen publicly since. In his place, the Chinese state installed its own candidate.
Chinese officials have dismissed the Dalai Lama’s authority, calling him “a political exile who has no right to represent the Tibetan people at all.”
The Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile, based in Dharamshala, has made it clear that any future dialogue with China must be premised on mutual respect - a condition not met by Beijing’s current demands, which include recognition of Tibet and Taiwan as parts of China.
How is the Dalai Lama chosen?
The process of selecting a new Dalai Lama is based on centuries-old religious practices. After the death of a Dalai Lama, senior monks traditionally undertake an elaborate search for his reincarnation, guided by dreams, visions, signs from sacred lakes, and rituals. They look for a child who shows signs of spiritual continuity, often including the ability to recognize items belonging to the previous Dalai Lama.
The current Dalai Lama was found at age 2 after a senior monk reportedly had a vision of his home and village. When visited, the child identified ritual objects used by his predecessor and declared, “It’s mine,” according to The Times.
“Typically, such discussions on the reincarnation do not take place when a monk is still alive,” Tibet’s chief state oracle, Thupten Ngodup, told Reuters, “but things are different now mainly because the Chinese government is interfering.”
Tibetan leaders expect the reincarnation to be found in India, home to 85,000 Tibetans across dozens of settlements.
“If a reincarnation has to be sought out, it would be best if they were born in Dharamshala,” 9-year-old Tenzin Wangmo, a student at the TCV school for Tibetan children, told The Times.
To safeguard the process, the Dalai Lama established the Gaden Phodrang Foundation in 2015. Its role is to coordinate the search and recognition of the next Dalai Lama, working independently of any political interference.
The Dalai Lama also took steps to prepare his followers, stepping down from his political role in 2011 and handing leadership to a democratically elected government-in-exile.
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This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 9:50 AM