In the twilight of this life, the Dalai Lama is already preparing for the next. Tibet's highest figure had promised to clarify the path his reincarnation would take when he turned 90. As his July birthday approaches, he confirmed in a book released mid-February one of the possibilities he had already hinted at in the past: He will indeed have a successor, and they will be born outside China. "Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world," asserted the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in Voice for the Voiceless: Over Seven Decades of Struggle With China for My Land and My People. In it, he recounted his struggle for his people and his interactions with the Chinese Communist Party.
The 14th Dalai Lama had already contemplated this scenario, but also considered the possibility that the institution of the Dalai Lama might cease to exist upon his death if he can't perpetuate it in Tibet. China, for its part, has very clear plans. But the Tibetan community was concerned that he would leave things in a state of uncertainty. "As the anniversary approaches, he is announcing something clear and precise in writing," noted Katia Buffetrille, an expert in Tibetan studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.
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