The Dalai Lama names next spiritual leader

The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, has named an eight-year-old United States-born Mongolian boy as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoché, the third highest rank in Tibetan Buddhism.

The decision comes amid speculations that the 14th Dalai Lama—Tenzin Gyatso, the highest spiritual Tibetan, will name his successor soon. The ceremony was reportedly held on March 8 in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala, where the Buddhist leader lives in exile. Follow SpotLife ASIA for the latest news and updates.

There has been no response from China, which in 2017 had warned Mongolia against allowing the Dalai Lama to meddle in identifying the heir to the highest position in Mongolia’s Buddhist hierarchy. There has been no official response from Mongolia either.

Tibetan Buddhists make up the largest chunk of the population in Mongolia. However, identifying the 10th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (also spelled as Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoché) importance beyond Mongolia, and even beyond China-Mongolia relations. The Jebtsundamba is also considered the third-highest spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism globally, only after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. Because of this, he can play a crucial role in the Dharamshala-backed institutional search for the next Dalai Lama itself a major bone of contention between the Dalai Lama and China.

Besides the title, the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa will also be tasked with the crucial role of recognizing the next Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the second-highest authority in the faith.

The Dalai Lama acknowledged the 8-year-old as Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche’s reincarnation during his visit to Mongolia a few years ago in 2016.

The Mongolian boy named as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche had visited Dharamshala along with a group of Mongolian devotees and attended the teachings of the Dalai Lama and preliminary Chakrasamvara empowerment on March 8-9 this year. The Office of the Dalai Lama in early this March released a photograph of the young boy Lama with a caption that read, “The reincarnation of Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche of Mongolia presenting traditional offerings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the start of the preliminary Chakrasamvara Empowerment at the main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala.”