A few years ago, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama said that when he turns 90, he would decide whether he should be reincarnated. I suppose some of us have a choice.
The Dalai Lama is now 85 and CNN believes that when the Dalai Lama dies, his reincarnation will be a religious crisis.
When the current Dalai Lama shuffles off this mortal coil most observers believe the Chinese Communist Party will attempt to pick the 15th incarnation.
Should the D.L. choose to reincarnate, he says the responsibility for locating the 15th D.L. rests with a group he founded, the Gaden Phodrang Trust.
As I wrote in June, 2015, the D.L. as gone so far as to hint that the 15th D.L. might be an attractive blonde female. At the time, quite a few progressive, Western Buddhists took offense to the D.L.'s "sexist" remarks. I'm surprised he hasn't been cancelled.
According to the CNN report, in December 2020, the US threatened to sanction any Chinese government officials who chose a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama over the wishes of the Tibetan people. Of course, that was when Trump was POTUS and I'm sure POTUS Biden will soon sign an executive order overriding that - if he hasn't already done so.
