China’s most famous monk is raising hackles in Beijing yet again. This time it’s over whether the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spirtual leader, can specify whether and where he will be reincarnated.
On Monday, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed the Dalai Lama’s recent comments about reincarnation. The Dalai Lama reportedly has said he will leave instructions about his reincarnation, after deciding at age 90 whether the institution should even exist. China, meanwhile, says the monk has no right to decide.