'Reincarnation Not His Call': Chinese Envoy To India Counters Dalai Lama On Succession

Last Updated:July 06, 2025, 13:49 IST

The statement follows the 14th Dalai Lama’s confirmation of a succession plan, in which he asserted that the decision would rest with a trust, not the Chinese government

Xu Feihong, Chinese Ambassador to India and the 14th Dalai Lama | File Image

Amid the ongoing debate around the succession of the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Ambassador to India said on Sunday that the 14th Dalai Lama does not hold the authority to decide whether the centuries-old reincarnation system will “continue or be abolished".

The statement comes after the 14th Dalai Lama confirmed his succession plan, in which he asserted that the decision would rest with a trust, not the Chinese government, and made it clear for the first time that he believes he will be reincarnated.

“The reincarnation of Dalai Lamas neither began from him nor will end due to him," Ambassador Xu Feihong wrote on X, adding that the current Dalai Lama is only one part of a long-standing religious tradition spanning over 700 years.

Referring to the practice of Living Buddha reincarnation as a “unique succession method of Tibetan Buddhism," the envoy said the system is active and widespread, with over 1,000 reincarnation lineages currently present in Xizang (Tibet) and Tibetan-inhabited regions of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai.

Location :

Himachal Pradesh, India, India

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