Advertisement

Dalai Lama says he may be the last in the line

It is up to the people of Tibet, he said.

By Ed Adamczyk
The Dalai Lama, on a visit to Vancouver, B.C., in October. UPI/Heinz Ruckemann
The Dalai Lama, on a visit to Vancouver, B.C., in October. UPI/Heinz Ruckemann | License Photo

LONDON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The Dalai Lama acknowledged in an interview he may be the last to hold the position, which can be traced to the 14th century.

He told the BBC in a televised interview Tuesday the title may end with him, and that "it is up to the Tibetan people" to decide if he has a successor.

Advertisement

"The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These man-made institutions will cease.There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won't come next, who will disgrace himself or herself. That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama."

The current Dalai Lama, 79, is the 14th in the lineage of head monks of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, received the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize and has a worldwide following. He has had the title since he was 15, and has been in exile in India since 1959 after the Chinese government, which has recently said it will choose the next Dalai Lama, subdued a Tibetan uprising.

Advertisement

In the interview he added the world must do more to encourage democracy in China.

"China very much wants to join the mainstream world economy. They should be welcome, but at the same time the free world has a moral responsibility to bring China into mainstream democracy, for China's own interests."

Latest Headlines