Tibet
\nThe Dalai Lama said on Saturday he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.
\nThe Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.
\n\u201cI have been able to serve the Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddhism) and the beings of Tibet so far quite well,\u201d he said between prayers, clearing his throat now and then.
\n\u201cAnd still, I hope to live over 130 years,\u201d he said, sparking applause and cheers among his followers.
\nThe 14th Dalai Lama, already the longest-lived head of Tibetan Buddhism, spent about 90 minutes at the prayers in his temple.
\nThe ceremony was attended by thousands of followers from around the world who gathered in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
\n\u201cWe have lost our country and we live in exile in India, but I have been able to benefit beings quite a lot. So, living here in Dharamshala, I intend to serve beings and the dharma as much as I can,\u201d he said in Tibetan, which was translated simultaneously into English and other languages.
\nChina, keen to consolidate its control over Tibet, views the Dalai Lama as a separatist. Beijing insists its leaders would have to approve his successor, in a legacy from imperial times.
\nThe Dalai Lama has previously said that he would reincarnate in the \u201cfree world\u201d outside China, and this week told his followers that the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation rests with his non-profit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tibet The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-488667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n