Dalai Lama, god-king for Tibetan Buddhists, will have a successor. That decision is consequential

DHARAMSHALA, India — The Dalai Lama has often called himself a simple monk, but millions of his Tibetan Buddhist followers have worshipped him for decades as a near deity.

They also see him as the face of Tibet's aspirations for greater autonomy, but have for years wrestled with the idea that he might be the last person to hold the role.

He put that speculation to rest Wednesday, just days before he turns 90 on Sunday. There will be a successor after his death, he announced, and the Dalai Lama's office will lead the search and recognize a successor in accordance with past tradition.

The decision is consequential for most Tibetans, who have struggled for decades to keep their identity alive — in Tibet or outside in exile — and rallied behind the Dalai Lama for that cause. It could also irk China, which insists that it alone has the authority to approve the next religious leader, a move seen as Beijing's efforts to strengthen its control over Tibet's overwhelmingly Buddhist population.

‘Simple Buddhist monk' hailed as a god-king

Recognized worldwide in his red robes and wide smile, the Dalai Lama describes himself as a ''simple Buddhist monk.'' But he is also worshipped as living manifestations of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion, and is the 14th person to hold the title of the Dalai Lama in a tradition stretching back 500 years.

As a village boy, Tenzin Gyatso was thrust onto the Tibetan throne to become the Dalai Lama — a god-king to his people — in 1937. Soon after, Chinese troops swept into his homeland in the 1950s and crushed a failed uprising. He escaped with thousands of his followers to India and established a government in exile.

Since then, the Dalai Lama has spent more than seven decades in exile, living an austere monastic life in regal isolation in the tiny, Himalayan town of Dharamshala. He has also jetted from capital to capital to try to force the aspirations of his tiny community onto the world agenda, uniting and mobilizing Tibetans inside and outside China.

The face of Tibet's struggle for autonomy

Tibetans in exile say they were effectively independent for centuries, and accuse China of trying to wipe out Tibet's Buddhist culture and language, and encouraging Chinese to move there from other parts of the country. Beijing insists Tibet is a part of China.

While many Tibetans seek full independence, the Dalai Lama has long said that he seeks only substantial autonomy and identity for Tibetan people. He has advocated for a nonviolent ''Middle Way'' for autonomy and religious freedom for Tibetan people through peaceful means.

Beijing, however, accuses him of making efforts to wrest Tibet's control away from China and inciting rebellion among Tibetans. In the past, Chinese leaders have called him a ''wolf in monk's robes'' and the ''scum of Buddhism.''

In 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize committee honored him ''for his consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people's struggle.'' In 2011, he relinquished his role as head of the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile and handed over political powers to a democratically elected government.

Raging dispute

With the Dalai Lama in his twilight years, the question looms about what happens after him.

The Dalai Lama has said that his successor will be born in a free country, indicating that the next spiritual leader could come from among Tibetan exiles and not from China.

China, meanwhile, is determined to control the succession of the Dalai Lama and insists that the reincarnation must be found in China's Tibetan areas, giving the Communist authorities immense power over who is chosen.

Thus, many observers believe there eventually will be rival Dalai Lamas — one appointed by Beijing, and one by senior monks loyal to the current Dalai Lama.

China has also sought to elevate other spiritual figures, particularly Tibetan Buddhism's No. 2 figure, the Panchen Lama. A boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the new Panchen disappeared soon after, and Beijing produced its own successor, whose legitimacy is highly contested.

Search for next Dalai Lama

The search for a Dalai Lama's reincarnation begins only upon the incumbent's death. Traditionally, the successor has been identified by senior monastic disciples, based on spiritual signs and visions. They interpret signs, consult oracles and send search parties to the Tibetan region for a child who exhibits qualities of the previous Dalai Lama.

It can take several years after the next Dalai Lama is identified as a baby and groomed to take the reins.

That process might be undone this time as the Dalai Lama has said that he might leave written instructions for finding his reincarnation, or name his successor while still alive.