The 14th Dalai Lama has celebrated his 90th birthday and marked the occasion with a long-awaited announcement about the future of the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual tradition.
On Wednesday, His Holiness announced via video message that the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue after his death.
It put to rest speculation over whether he might be the last of his lineage.
This week, Tibetans and Buddhists have gathered around the world to mark the milestone and express their admiration for the longtime advocate for the Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama was appointed to Tibet's highest spiritual role at the age of two and has spent nearly a century navigating the fraught political terrain between Tibet and China, despite living in exile for 66 years.
He is the first Dalai Lama to achieve global influence and has been instrumental in bringing contemporary Buddhism into the mainstream.
And it all began in a small, remote village in north-eastern Tibet.
The boy from Taktser
According to Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lamas are the spiritual leaders and protectors of Tibet.
The doctrine states that when a Dalai Lama dies, he may choose the subject of his reincarnation and direct his senior spiritual guides to identify their next leader. The process can take some time.
When the 13th Dalai Lama died in 1933, a regent was appointed until a successor was found. Search parties scoured Tibet for two years before they landed on a boy living in a small hamlet called Taktser in the country's northeast.
His name was Lhamo Dhondup. After putting the two-year-old through spiritual and supernatural tests, the lamas confirmed him as a "tulku" or Dalai Lama incarnate.
In 1939, he was formally recognised as the 14th Dalai Lama and given the name of Tenzin Gyatso.
He began his monastic education when he was just five years old, studying Tibetan Buddhist philosophy along with logic, fine arts, medicine, poetry and other subjects.
Despite his elevated status, His Holiness says he was treated as "an ordinary young monk".
In 1950, the newly established People's Republic of China invaded and subsequently annexed Tibet.
As political unrest and violence escalated, the 15-year-old Dalai Lama was asked to assume the role of head of state.
But in May 1951, Tibetan representatives, under significant pressure from Chinese authorities, ceded control of Tibet to China.
While His Holiness later formed an unlikely relationship with Mao Zedong — whom he describes as "like a father" — their bond over communist ideology could not stave off rising tensions between their two cultures.
A perilous escape
In the late 1950s, communication between Chinese and Tibetan representatives broke down, and rumours circulated that Chinese authorities planned to kidnap the Dalai Lama.
Driven by famine, growing fear for their leader's safety and resentment toward Chinese control, Tibetans staged a wave of protests in the city of Lhasa that escalated into the 1959 Tibetan Uprising.
Over 10 days, pro-independence demonstrators clashed with the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which responded with tanks and heavy artillery.
Tibetan authorities estimate that 87,000 Tibetans were killed during this period.
"Everything was uncertain, except the compelling anxiety of all my people to get me away before the orgy of Chinese destruction and massacre began," His Holiness wrote in his autobiography.
The Dalai Lama disguised himself as a soldier and escaped the city under the cover of darkness, accompanied by guerilla fighters.
For two weeks, they journeyed on foot through the Himalayas, pursued by Chinese troops, until, on May 31, 1959, they entered India and were granted asylum.
In 1960, the Dalai Lama established a base in Dharamshala, a hill town in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The following year, tens of thousands of Tibetans followed their leader into exile.
"I consider my involvement in the Tibetan freedom struggle … part of my spiritual practice," His Holiness told the ABC in 1996.
Later, he reflected:
"At the age of 16, I lost my freedom. At the age of 24, I lost my country."
The Middle Way
Over a decade beginning in 1966, Mao Zedong spearheaded the Cultural Revolution, a political campaign aimed at rooting out capitalist ideology and reinforcing communist orthodoxy.
According to Tibetan records, more than 6,000 monasteries and religious institutions were destroyed, millions of manuscripts were burnt, and around 173,000 Tibetans died in prison or labour camps during this period.
From his government in exile, the Dalai Lama continued to advocate for Tibetan culture and the rights of its people.
"Tibetans were compelled to live in a state of constant fear, while the Chinese government remained suspicious of them," His Holiness wrote of the period.
"However, instead of cultivating enmity towards the Chinese leaders responsible for the ruthless suppression of the Tibetan people, I prayed for them to become friends."
He grew to believe that Tibet, despite its "rich and ancient cultural heritage", was too "materially underdeveloped" to pursue independence from China.
In the late 1980s, the Dalai Lamai presented a new peace proposal, first at the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus and later at a session of the European Parliament.
The Buddhist leader advanced what he called the Middle Way Approach; a proposal for Tibetan autonomy within China rather than full independence, with protections for Tibetan people's rights and freedoms.
"Our proposal is the best way to achieve harmony, stability and unity," His Holiness said of the plan in 2007.
But critics have argued the Dalai Lama's approach falls short and he should advocate for full independence rather than autonomy.
His Holiness has said even his older brother accused him of "selling out their right to independence".
In 2011, the Dalai Lama resigned as political leader of the Tibetan government in exile, but continued to advocate for the Middle Way in his capacity as religious leader.
Since its inception, however, Chinese leadership has been unwilling to entertain the plan.
The CCP has long maintained that Tibet is an "inalienable part of China", and that the Dalai Lama must "thoroughly correct" his political views if he wishes to maintain communication with the Chinese state.
"The Chinese government considers me [to be] a splittist. In recent years, it has even described me as a demon," the Dalai Lama told the ABC in 2013.
Lobsang Sangay, who was the leader of the Central Tibetan Administration in India for 10 years, says the CCP's political resistance to the Middle Way distracts from the bigger picture.
"These are all lame excuses that they use to distract from talking about the real issue, which is the destruction of Tibetan culture, identity and religion," he told ABC Radio National's God Forbid.
"They're doing exactly what colonial powers have done before."
Buddhism on the world stage
The current Dalai Lama is among the oldest in the lineage, with many of his predecessors passing away before their 30th birthday.
Throughout his exile, he has travelled extensively, visiting 67 countries across six continents to meet with senior religious and political figures and give lectures on Buddhism.
Interfaith dialogue has featured prominently during his most high-profile visits, which have included meetings with the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
He made his first visit to Australia in 1982 and has returned nine times since.
This international attention helped reshape the image of the Dalai Lama from the solitary, mystical figure of his predecessors to that of a globally recognised political and spiritual force — a role cemented by his Nobel Peace Prize win in 1989.
"I'm Buddhist, [but] I understand the value of different traditions," he told the ABC in 2008.
"I am always trying to make clear [that] the ultimate source of a happy life and peace of mind is within ourselves. That is human affection, warm-heartedness or, in other words, human compassion."
His Holiness' Buddhist teachings, which centre on compassion, wisdom and kindness, are believed to have influenced rising numbers of Buddhist practitioners and institutions around the world.
He has also authored more than 100 books on Buddhism and collaborated with the scientific community to "share a search for the truth".
Robert Thurman, an American Buddhist, author and academic who has hosted the Dalai Lama, told the ABC in 2008 that His Holiness's magnetism was undeniable.
"The Dalai Lama always has an amazing effect on his audience; whether it's one person or 30,000 people," he said.
"People just blossom in his presence."
Tenzin Choegyal, a world-renowned Tibetan-Australian musician and composer, agrees the spiritual leader has brought Tibetan Buddhism into the spotlight.
"He's probably one of the most recognisable world refugees, who has been living in exile for the last [almost] 70 years," he tells ABC Radio National's Soul Search.
"Not many people know about Tibet, but they definitely know about the Dalai Lama."
Hope for the future of Tibet
Today, ill health prevents the Dalai Lama from travelling widely or hosting large-scale public events, but for many Tibetans, he remains a hugely significant figure.
"For a Tibetan, he's a father, a mother, a leader of the nation and also the spiritual leader as well," Choegyal says.
"It's almost like he is the Tibet that resides within us.
"His Holiness has been an amazing backbone in keeping everyone's hope and resilience intact."
In his last interview with the ABC in 2017, the Dalai Lama expressed hope for future negotiations over Tibetan autonomy and cultural preservation.
"If you compare the China of 20 years ago [to today], I think much has already changed … It's only a question of time," he said.
"When it becomes a more open society or a more democratic country, then certainly we can easily find a mutually agreeable solution between Tibet and the Chinese."
Currently, the Tibetan government in exile is not recognised as a legitimate government by any country in the world.
But questions have been raised over the next Dalai Lama — and how many there might be.
The question of succession
His Holiness has previously indicated that the 600-year-old institution of the Dalai Lama may not continue after his death, and that he would consult with senior lamas, the Tibetan public and other spiritual leaders on the decision.
In his recent announcement, he said this consultation had taken place over the past 14 years and that he had received appeals from Buddhists all over the world to continue the tradition.
He confirmed the institution would continue through the process of reincarnation, and that his charitable trust would have "sole authority" to recognise his successor.
"No one [sic] else has any such authority to interfere in this matter," he said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the announcement by reasserting that the next Dalai Lama and "other great Buddhist figures" must be "approved by the central government".
In 1995, the Dalai Lama identified the 11th Panchen Lama, a senior religious leader responsible for helping recognise the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The six-year-old child, named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was detained by the CCP just three days after he was identified. He has not been seen since, although Chinese authorities insist he is "living a normal life".
Later that year, the CCP appointed its own choice for Panchen Lama, Gyancain Norbu, who is not recognised by the Central Tibetan Administration and largely viewed as an instrument of the Chinese state.
The Dalai Lama has suggested that upon his death, the Chinese government would appoint its own Dalai Lama favourable to the CCP. Dr Sangay agrees this a likely scenario.
"For Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, the one selected as per the instruction of the Dalai Lama will be the real one and the one selected by the Chinese government will be a fake one," he says.
"You just can't have political leadership deciding on spiritual leadership.
"Spirituality is a matter of heart and mind; it's a matter of devotion. It has to come from within."
