The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, turns 90 on Sunday after a week of celebrations.
Thousands of worshippers from around the world have travelled to Dharamshala, the small Indian town in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Dalai Lama lives, to mark the occasion.
This includes long-time follower and Hollywood star Richard Gere, who is set to speak during the celebrations for the Nobel laureate, who is regarded as one of the world’s most influential religious leaders and worshipped by millions of Tibetan Buddhists as the living manifestation of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion.
Actor Richard Gere attends an event on 30 June ahead of the Dalai Lama’s birthday. Pic: AP/Ashwini Bhatia
Devotees wait in the rain for the arrival of the Dalai Lama at an event celebrating his birthday. Pic: AP/Ashwini Bhatia
Hundreds of red-robed monks and nuns braved incessant rain on Sunday as they poured through the narrow streets of Dharamshala towards the main Dalai Lama temple, where the spiritual leader will hold a speech.
Events for the Dalai Lama’s birthday already started on Monday, which marked his 90th birthday in the Tibetan calendar, six days before his birthday in the Gregorian calendar on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Dalai Lama said he hoped to live for decades more, until the age of 130.
Tenzin Gyatso, who became the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1940, fled his native Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule and took shelter in India, along with hundreds of thousands of Tibetans.
The Dalai Lama, centre, greets people as he arrives at an event a day before his 90th birthday. Pic: AP/Ashwini Bhatia
Devotees watch Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on a tv screen at an event on Saturday. Pic: AP/Ashwini Bhatia
Tibetan exiles prayed for the Dalai Lama’s longevity, a day before his 90th birthday. Pic: AP/Ashwini Bhatia
China has labelled the Dalai Lama a separatist and has sought to bring Tibetan Buddhism back under its control.
During his week of celebrations, the Dalai Lama explicitly said he will have a successor after his death, ending years of speculation over whether he would be the last Tibetan spiritual leader.
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He riled China again by saying the next Dalai Lama should be found in line with Buddhist traditions, signalling that China should stay away from the process of identifying his successor, but Beijing said that the succession would have to be approved by its leaders.
Seeking to counter the rise of China, the US has called on Beijing to stop interfering in the succession of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist lamas.
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