Why choosing the next Dalai Lama could be tricky
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The Dalai Lama is one of the world's most influential figures. As the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, he has millions of followers extending well beyond the religion. He's often described himself as a simple monk, despite his big role. And he celebrates his 90th birthday on the 6th of July. So much of the world has been reflecting on the legacy he will leave behind.

There's been years of speculation over whether he would be the last Tibetan spiritual leader. Those rumours have now been put to rest. The Dalai Lama says he will have a successor after his death. For the rest of my life, I will dedicate myself to the benefits of others as much as possible, as extensively as possible.

there will be some kind of framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of Dalai Lama. But there's been a long-running power struggle between the Dalai Lama and China over who controls Tibetan Buddhism's most sacred role. From remote, mysterious Tibet, reports as shrouded in mystery as the country itself. News of an uprising against Chinese communist rule. The young Dalai Lama...

China took over Tibet, which the Chinese government calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, in 1951 and has kept tight control of the region ever since. So today we're asking, how will the next Dalai Lama be chosen? And why is China so determined to have the final say? I'm Itgra Farooq, and this is What's in the World from the BBC World Service. What's in the World

I'm here with Sean Yuen from the BBC's Global China Unit. Hey, Sean. Hello, good morning. How are you? I'm not too bad. How are you doing? Yeah, not too bad. You've been to Tibet, where the Dalai Lama is from. So what's it like there? Well, it's massive. It's one of the biggest regions in China in the western part of the country. And it sits on the Tibetan Plateau, as the name suggests.

I've been there a few times already, and it is one of the places that I think is one of the most beautiful places, actually. You would trek all the way up from Sichuan, for example, and then go all the way to Tibet, and the landscape change is absolutely dramatic.

But as soon as you get into Tibet, religion is everywhere. You see Buddhism temples everywhere, and then you see people praying on the road. And I went to this mountain, for example, and it's one of the holiest mountains in Tibetan Buddhism. People, especially Buddhists, they would actually go around the mountain for three days.

to pay tribute to the spirits. And so if you travel around the region, you can feel the presence of religion. But at the same time, you can see that it has always been very poor. It is one of the most impoverished regions in China as well. And that doesn't come without a reason, obviously, because infrastructure had never been really that good. Villages sit very far away from each other.

So it's actually one of the talking points of Chinese Communist Party is that they have managed to lift a lot of people out of poverty. We cannot deny that. Especially, for example, I went to quite a few villages in far, far remote region of Tibetan autonomous region. Those roads would not have been present if it weren't for the heavy investment from the Chinese Communist Party. But at the same time, you can see the region has been incredibly signalized

which means that the high majority, which is the majority ethnic group in China, they're flocking to Tibet for tourism, for example, or for business. And you can see a lot of traces of Tibetan traditional culture or Buddhism. They are fading away. So you mentioned that spiritual feeling in Tibet. So coming on to the Dalai Lama then, who

Who is the Dalai Lama and I guess why is he so important to Tibetans? The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. And for many Tibetans, he's far more than just a religious figure, of course. He's also a symbol of their identity, their history, their struggles.

So the current Dalai Lama is actually the 14th in a centuries-long line of reincarnated lamas. He was recognized as the Dalai Lama when he was just about two years old and formerly enthroned at the age of 15. And what makes him so significant is that traditionally the Dalai Lama wasn't just a spiritual leader. He was also this sort of cultural and political leader of Tibet, a kind of a spiritual king, if you like.

And obviously that changed after he went into exile. But the emotional and symbolic weight that he carries for Tibetans hasn't really diminished at all. But the Dalai Lama doesn't actually live in Tibet, does he? For over 60 years, he's been living in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala. So how did he end up there? The backstory here is pretty dramatic, actually. In the 9th

I would say late 1950s, Tibet was under growing pressure from the Chinese communist government. Tensions were escalating. And in 1959, again, that was a year when Dalai Lama went into exile. In that year, there was major uprising in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and Chinese troops move in quickly and with force.

So fearing for his safety, the Dalai Lama disguised himself as a soldier and fled across the Himalayas. And he eventually crossed into India, which the country granted him asylum. And since then, he has been living there inside the Indian Himalayas. And now that's the seat of the Tibetan government in exile and sort of a capital for the global Tibetan diaspora as well. So

Although he hasn't stepped foot in Tibet since he fled, he's continued to be his most prominent voice on the world stage, advocating for Tibetan autonomy and religious freedom and trying to keep the kind of Tibetan culture alive in exile. And he's due to celebrate his 98th birthday on the 6th of July. So the attention has turned to how the next Dalai Lama will be chosen.

So what does that process look like, Sean? So traditionally, when a Dalai Lama dies, high-ranking Tibetan monks would go in search for his reincarnation. Usually, it's a young boy who's believed to be the rebirth of the previous Dalai Lama. It's a very, very spiritual process guided by, for example, signs and visions and dreams.

And sometimes they consult sacred lakes or interpret omens. And, you know, with all those things combined, once they find a potential child, they would give him objects to choose from. And some of those objects would belong to the previous Dalai Lama, some that didn't. And if that child picks the right ones, the ones that, you know, actually belong to the Dalai Lama, that will be seen as confirmation.

So all of those kind of process was the traditional way of doing things in Tibetan Buddhism. But this time around, the current Dalai Lama is very aware of the political stakes.

He said quite explicitly that his next reincarnation will be born outside of China in a quote-unquote free country, as he put it. And he's been very clear that no one has the authority to interfere in the process. And that's directly targeted at the Chinese government. So in other words, he's trying to safeguard the authenticity of the next Dalai Lama by making it impossible for China to control it.

As you can imagine, that hasn't gone down well with China. Here's a spokesperson from the country's foreign ministry. The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must take place inside China through a process of evaluation and with final approval from the central government. For any religion to survive and develop, it must adapt to the country's social environment and cultural traditions.

Tibetan Buddhism was born in China and has its Chinese characteristics. The Chinese government has long rejected the Dalai Lama's authority, especially when it comes to anything political. They've labeled him as a quote-unquote separatist, for example, someone they accuse of trying to divide the country, even though he's always said publicly he's not calling for full independence, just meaningful autonomy for Tibetans.

Chinese officials essentially said, look, the state gets the final say. So to them, any attempt by the Dalai Lama to identify a successor outside of China, it is illegitimate. In terms of why China wants to have control over the succession progress, that goes to the heart of how Beijing sees Tibet, right? The Chinese government considers Tibet as an inseparable part of China, full stop.

And any form of dissent, especially one that tied to religion or national identity, is seen as a threat to the unity and sovereignty. So the control over succession process is also about shaping the next generation of Tibetans.

If young people in Tibet are taught to follow Dalai Lama who toes the party line, for example, it becomes much easier to suppress calls for autonomy or cultural preservation. So again, it is not just symbolic, it is strategic. You really get that sense of the power struggle there between China and the Dalai Lama. What has that relationship kind of historically been like? What's it like at the moment?

When I was in Tibet, for example, even though Dalai Lama remains the most important spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhism, you really don't see any portraits of him or any reference of him because that would actually be illegal under Chinese law. I was reading some celebrities have even been banned from China for associating themselves with the Dalai Lama. Lady Gaga, for example, she had previously met with Dalai Lama and then she got huge backlashes.

And not just celebrities, obviously. We have a lot of countries, India, the US, and some in Europe as well. They have previously hosted Dalai Lama as well. And that has also prompted major response from China, you know, from China.

both on the international stage when it comes to rhetoric, they say that this has hurt the feelings of Chinese people, which is sort of the go-to phrase they use when they condemn other countries' diplomacy. But also at the same time, on the more tangible front, they cancelled trade talks or they cancelled summits or they slapped some other economic measures on those people, these countries who have previously dealt with Dalai Lama as well. Sean, it's been so good to have you on. Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me. So what's it like for the people who are dealing with these tensions on a daily basis? The BBC's Laura Bicker recently spent time at a monastery in China's southwestern Sichuan province, which is near Tibet. She sent us this voice note about what her visit was like.

We visited this particular monastery because for decades it's been at the heart of Tibetan Buddhist resistance against Communist Party rule. We knew that in the past there had been monks who protested in Abba. So we got up way before dawn to hike past the people watching us

and sneak past them to head to morning prayers. Now the monks there gather in their yellow hats. This is a symbol of the Galug school of Buddhism. And there is this low sonorous chanting as soon as you approach the hall.

And then you had a number of local people sitting cross-legged, listening to the chanting, listening to the prayers. Eventually those prayers come to an end with a small chime of a bell. Now this monastery is very much watched by the authorities and surveillance is pervasive. There's a small police station right at the entrance to the temple and then of course there's nests of surveillance cameras above us

The monks we spoke to believe that their rights to their Buddhist identity, to their Buddhist religion is being eroded. Now the Communist Party say that is not true, that they're trying to assimilate Buddhist beliefs, make them more Chinese and bring people together from across all parts of the country.

And that's it for today. Thank you for joining us on this episode of What in the World. I'm Mitra Farooq and we'll see you guys next time. Bye.