06 August 2006
Dalai Lama comments on successor
(Indian Express) The Dalai Lama says that his successor should ideally be from the Tibetan community in exile in India, adding that the boy chosen should be acceptable to all Tibetans. He believes a successor from the community in exile will be in a better position to "fulfill the objective" of getting their homeland back for the Tibetans. "As the 14th Dalai Lama, I took the Tibetans out of the country to India and began the movement of getting the homeland back. My successor should fulfill this objective", he said. On the future of the institution of the Dalai Lama, he says instead of searching for an incarnation, a system similar to the election of the Pope by Roman Catholics could be an option. "The senior Lamas can come together and select one among them as the next Dalai. However, the Tibetans may not agree with that", he said. The Dalai Lama also said he wasn’t disturbed by the latest Chinese tirade against him and said he has stuck to the idea of a middle-path: autonomy for Tibet under the constitutional framework of China Asserting that the solution is through a dialogue with China. The Dalai Lama said he would resign the moment the Tibetan freedom movement took a violent turn.