In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is believed to be the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. After his death, senior monks traditionally search for a child believed to be his reincarnation through divination, visions, and spiritual signs, usually within Tibetan cultural regions.
Since China’s occupation of Tibet in 1950, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has claimed state authority over all reincarnations of Tibetan lamas, enforcing a government-controlled selection process such as the “Golden Urn” system and recognizing only candidates approved by Beijing. This has led to political intervention in past successions, including the 1995 disappearance of the boy identified by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama.
In 2025, the 14th Dalai Lama reaffirmed that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after his death and declared that his successor would be born outside Chinese territory. He also stated that the next Dalai Lama could be a woman and might not necessarily be a child.