[Opinion] The Geopolitics of the Dalai Lama Institution and Tibetan Reincarnation: China’s Quest for Control

The Dalai Lama’s Reincarnation and India’s Moral Crossroads – Tibet

By Khedroob Thondup China’s recent warnings to India not to interfere in the future reincarnation of the Dalai Lama are more than just diplomatic posturing. They strike at the heart of a centuries-old Tibetan spiritual tradition and the geopolitical contest over who gets to define its future. Beijing insists that the next Dalai Lama must be chosen under its authority, a claim rooted in its broader assertion of sovereignty over Tibet. Yet the Dal…

The Geopolitics of the Dalai Lama Institution and Tibetan Reincarnation: China’s Quest for Control

In Tibetan society, the process of identifying reincarnations is understood as one of the most sacred expressions of rebirth. Although this tradition may be unfamiliar outside the Tibetan Buddhist world, it is deeply rooted in Tibetan religious culture. Communist China remains fundamentally alien to this traditional reincarnation system.

Who Gets to Choose the Next Dalai Lama? A Sacred Tradition Caught in a Political Tug-of-War - Tibetan Review

OPINION Ashu Maan* examines the escalating dispute between the exiled Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Trust and the Chinese government over who has the authority to select the 15th Dalai Lama, and how this succession battle could result in a split leadership with lasting religious and geopolitical consequences. When the 14th Dalai Lama turned ninety in […]