The Dalai Lama is one of the most recognisable figures in the world - but the future of this position is shrouded in doubt and mystery
The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is 88 years old, and living in India, having been exiled from his homeland of Tibet in 1959 following an uprising against China, which annexed Tibet in the early 1950s.
Since then, the issue of who will succeed him in this role has become a pressing question for Tibet, and Tibetan Buddhism more broadly, as there are fears the traditional process of selection may not be respected by Chinese authorities, who assert that important reincarnations within Tibetan Buddhism must get approval from the government.
John Powers is a lecturer in Buddhism Studies at the University of Melbourne and speaks to Emile Donovan.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso Photo: Wikipdia Commons
