In Honor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on His 91st Birthday

by Janna Weiss

The Tibetans have strong empirical and logical reasons to regard as true that the current 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the reincarnation of the continuity of consciousness of successive Dalai Lamas, starting from the First Dalai Lama, who lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Tibet. For the past 500 years, from the time of The Great Fifth Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lamas have been the spiritual and temporal leaders of Tibet.

For 800 years, the Tibetans have maintained a system of recognition of their spiritual teachers, from lifetime to lifetime, known as the tulku system. The Karmapa lineage is the oldest Tibetan reincarnation lineage.

Although the Chinese authorities do not believe in reincarnation, the communist government has sought to undermine the Tibetan tulku system by appointing its own imposter spiritual teachers, and even issued laws forbidding any other entity except itself to recognize important Tibetan reincarnations.

The recognition of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is therefore of great concern to the Tibetan people and to millions of people worldwide.

On Nov 20, 2025, International Campaign for Tibet’s Buchung Tsering testified at the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing on religious freedom in China. His testimony underscores the importance of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to Tibetans. His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is first in the list of seven recommendations that Buchung Tsering made to the United States government.

The first recommendation reminds the current United States administration of its responsibility to “monitor, as per the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, Chinese officials’ violation of Tibetan religious freedom, including interference in recognizing a successor or reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama and any future Dalai Lamas…”

Buchung Tsering submitted the “Statement of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, on the Issue of His Reincarnation, September 24, 2011” for the hearing record.

On July 2, 2025, the Dalai Lama issued a further “Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama,” which Buchung Tsering also submitted for the hearing record.

In the foreword to Professor Emeritus Robert A.F. Thurman’s translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Liberation Through Understanding in the Between, His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote:

“The Bardo Thodol, known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, is one of the most important books our civilization has produced. We Tibetans have a reputation of being very spiritual, though we usually consider ourselves quite down-to-earth and practical. So we think of our systematic study and analysis of the human death process as a cautious and practical preparation for the inevitable. After all, there is not a single one of us who is not going to die, sooner or later. So, how to prepare for death, how to undergo the death process with the least trauma, and what comes after death—these are matters of vital importance to every one of us. It would be impractical of us not to study these issues with the greatest of care, and not to develop methods of dealing with death and the dying in a skillful, compassionate, and humane way.

“The Book of Liberation Through Understanding in the Between has been quite popular for many centuries in Tibet. It is a manual of useful instructions for people who are facing their death, as well as for their relatives and friends. It is connected with a large literature in Tibetan that thoroughly investigates the phenomena of dying. Indeed, the reality of death has always been a major spur to virtuous and intelligent action in all Buddhist societies. It is not considered morbid to contemplate it, but rather liberating from fear, and even beneficial to the health of the living.

“I am delighted that my old friend Professor Robert Thurman has made a new translation of this important work . . . “

In his “Statement of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, on the Issue of His Reincarnation, September 24, 2011” the Dalai Lama described the reincarnation process.

How Rebirth Takes Place

“There are two ways in which someone can take rebirth after death: rebirth under the sway of karma and destructive emotions and rebirth through the power of compassion and prayer. Regarding the first, due to ignorance [the mistaken view of self as inherently, intrinsically existent, independent, and partless], negative and positive karma are created and their imprints remain on the consciousness. These are reactivated through craving and grasping, propelling us into the next life. We then take rebirth involuntarily in higher or lower realms. This is the way ordinary beings circle incessantly through existence like the turning of a wheel. Even under such circumstances ordinary beings can engage diligently with a positive aspiration in virtuous practices in their day-to-day lives. They familiarize themselves with virtue that at the time of death can be reactivated, providing the means for them to take rebirth in a higher realm of existence.

“On the other hand, superior Bodhisattvas [a.k.a. meditation adepts, mind scientists, yogis, psychonauts, spiritual adepts] . . . are not reborn through the force of their karma and destructive emotions, but due to the power of their compassion for sentient beings, and based on their prayers to benefit others. They are able to choose their place and time of birth, as well as their future parents. Such a rebirth, which is solely for the benefit of others, is rebirth through the force of compassion and prayer.”

You’re invited to watch Janna Weiss’s 18-minute introduction to the Empathy Circle on Death, Dying, and Rebirth, November 23, 2025, co-hosted by Tibet House US, Shantideva Center NYC, and The Empathy Center, and to explore the other videos in the playlist.

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