DHARAMSHALA, India — DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama turned 90 on Sunday surrounded by 1000’s of followers, who thronged the Himalayan city of Dharamshala, the place the non secular chief of Tibetan Buddhism has been dwelling in exile since fleeing Chinese language rule in Tibet in 1959.
He sat earlier than a packed viewers that included a whole lot of red-robed monks and nuns who braved incessant rain to see him.
Wearing a standard gown and a flowing yellow wrap, the Dalai Lama was escorted to the temple courtyard by a bunch of monks, as Tibetan artists beat drums and performed bagpipes whereas senior lamas struck cymbals in his honor. The pinnacle of the democratically elected Tibetan government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, raised the Tibetan flag because the musicians performed the Tibetan anthem.
Recognized worldwide in his crimson robes and extensive smile, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, describes himself as a “easy Buddhist monk.” However thousands and thousands of Tibetan Buddhists worship him as dwelling manifestations of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion.
The celebration capped per week of celebrations, throughout which the Nobel Peace Prize winner mentioned he plans to reincarnate after his death, ending years of hypothesis that he is likely to be the final particular person to carry the position. He additionally mentioned that the subsequent Dalai Lama must be and acknowledged as per previous Buddhist traditions.
On Saturday, the Dalai Lama mentioned he hoped to reside until the age of 130.
Up to now, the Dalai Lama has mentioned his successor will probably be born within the “free world” — outdoors China. Many exiled Tibetans, nonetheless, worry China will title its personal successor to the Dalai Lama to bolster management over Tibet, a territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has dominated ever since.
China, which views the Dalai Lama as a separatist, has repeatedly mentioned that it alone has the authority to approve the subsequent non secular chief of Tibetan Buddhism. It additionally says it can reject anybody chosen with out Beijing’s consent.
Dignitaries together with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, despatched their needs to the Tibetan chief.
Modi mentioned the Dalai Lama has “been an everlasting image of affection, compassion, persistence and ethical self-discipline,” whereas Rubio mentioned the Buddhist non secular chief “continues to encourage individuals by embodying a message of unity, peace and compassion.”
The celebration was additionally attended by a whole lot of followers from world wide together with Hollywood film star Richard Gere.
“He’s essentially the most extraordinary man to ever stroll on this planet,” mentioned Gere, as the gang broke right into a rapturous applause.
In a birthday message on his web site on Saturday, the Dalai Lama reiterated that he was “only a easy Buddhist monk” and that he’ll “proceed to give attention to my commitments of selling human values spiritual concord.”
The Dalai Lama was thrust onto the Tibetan throne in 1937. Quickly after, Chinese language troops swept into his homeland within the Nineteen Fifties and crushed a failed rebellion, forcing him to flee with 1000’s of his followers to India the place he established a authorities in exile.
Since then, he has spent greater than seven a long time in exile and sustained a nation in exile by managing to construct a group that’s saved the Tibetan tradition and identification alive. The Dalai Lama has additionally develop into one of many world’s most recognizable figures whereas main a Tibetan diaspora by their battle for autonomy and opposition of China’s control of Tibet.