The Dalai Lama, ahead of his 90th birthday, has declared that the institution of the Dalai Lama will persist after his death, a statement with significant implications for his global Buddhist followers. He emphasised that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, based will have exclusive authority to identify his successor, adhering to traditional Buddhist practices. 

-By Rohit Mullick / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Jul 02, 2025

Kullu: Ahead of his 90th birthday, Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama stated on Wednesday that the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue and the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation.

In a statement posted on social media, the 14th Dalai Lama said that “no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter.”

The statement further states that the process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognized has been clearly established according to which the responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The statement further reads that the members should carry out the search for his successor. Click here to read more.