The Dalai Lama celebrates his 90th birthday with thousands of Tibetan
Buddhists
[July 07, 2025]
By SHEIKH SAALIQ
DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama turned 90 on Sunday surrounded
by thousands of followers, who thronged the Himalayan town of
Dharamshala, where the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has been
living in exile since fleeing Chinese rule in Tibet in 1959.
Sitting before a packed audience that included hundreds of red-robed
monks and nuns who braved incessant rain to see him, he said: “When I
look back on my life, I see that I have not wasted it at all.”
“I live my life in the service of other sentient beings,” he added.
Dressed in a traditional robe and a flowing yellow wrap, the Dalai Lama
was escorted to the temple courtyard by a group of monks, as Tibetan
artists beat drums and played bagpipes while senior lamas struck cymbals
in his honor. The head of the democratically elected Tibetan
government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, raised the Tibetan flag as the
musicians played the Tibetan anthem.
Recognized worldwide in his red robes and wide smile, Tenzin Gyatso, the
14th Dalai Lama, describes himself as a “simple Buddhist monk.” But
millions of Tibetan Buddhists worship him as living manifestations of
Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion.
Celebration capped a week of birthday events
The birthday party capped a week of celebrations, during which the Nobel
Peace Prize winner said he plans to reincarnate after his death, ending
years of speculation that he might be the last person to hold the role.
He also said that the next Dalai Lama should be and recognized as per
past Buddhist traditions.
On Saturday, the Dalai Lama said he hoped to live until the age of 130.
In the past, the Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born in the
“free world” — outside China. Many exiled Tibetans, however, fear China
will name its own successor to the Dalai Lama to bolster control over
Tibet, a territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has ruled ever
since.
China, which views the Dalai Lama as a separatist, has repeatedly said
that it alone has the authority to approve the next spiritual leader of
Tibetan Buddhism. It also says it will reject anyone chosen without
Beijing’s consent.
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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, in yellow robe, is helped
by attendant monks as he arrives to preside over an event during
which Tibetan exiles prayed for his longevity, a day before his 90th
birthday, in Dharamshala, India, Saturday, July 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Ashwini
Bhatia)
World leaders and celebrities sent wishes
Dignitaries including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sent their wishes to the Tibetan
leader.
Modi said the Dalai Lama has “been an enduring symbol of love,
compassion, patience and moral discipline,” while Rubio said the
Buddhist spiritual leader “continues to inspire people by embodying
a message of unity, peace and compassion.”
The celebration was also attended by hundreds of followers from
around the world including Hollywood movie star Richard Gere.
"He is the most extraordinary man to ever walk on this planet," said
Gere, as the crowd broke into a rapturous applause.
In a birthday message on his website on Saturday, the Dalai Lama
reiterated that he was “just a simple Buddhist monk” and that he
will “continue to focus on my commitments of promoting human values
religious harmony.”
Celebrations were also held in Kathmandu, Nepal, where hundreds of
Tibetan refugees, monks and foreign diplomats marked the day with
Buddhist prayers, chanting and dances.
The Dalai Lama was thrust onto the Tibetan throne in 1937. Soon
after, Chinese troops swept into his homeland in the 1950s and
crushed a failed uprising, forcing him to escape with thousands of
his followers to India where he established a government in exile.
Since then, he has spent more than seven decades in exile and
sustained a nation in exile by managing to build a community that’s
kept the Tibetan culture and identity alive. The Dalai Lama has also
become one of the world’s most recognizable figures while leading a
Tibetan diaspora through their struggle for autonomy and opposition
of China’s control of Tibet.
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