It is perhaps one of the most sensitive political issues in China.: ¿who has authority in Tibet?
Many Tibetans revere the Dalai Lama and support his goal of greater autonomy from Beijing..
But for the rulers, the exiled spiritual leader is a traitor.
Read too: China accuses Dalai Lama of treason
For centuries, el título de Dalai Lama ha sido ejercido por sus "reencarnaciones".
The current, the number 14, will fulfill 80 years this year, and Beijing wants to control the process of finding his successor, the number 15.
However, the Dalai Lama has said his role will end one day. Es mejor no tener una Dalai Lama que tener "uno estúpido".
¿So, will be reincarnated or not?
Four experts in this matter offered their different views to BBC Mundo.
"El proceso de reencarnación no debe ser manipulado"
Chonpel Tsering, representative of the Dalai Lama in northern Europe.
"Yo genuinamente no sé (whether he will be reincarnated or not). Tibetan Buddhism believes that everyone is reborn, but not everyone can choose how and when.
The lamas –important religious figures– can first determine whether they are reincarnated or not and, if they do, where will they be born again.
The present incarnation, el actual Dalai Lama, can decide. Rebirth is your choice.
First, He will consult the Tibetan people and other followers of Tibetan Buddhism to find out if they believe that there should be a Dalai Lama number 15.
Read too: When Buddhists take up arms
Si la decisión es 'Sí', will then give clear instructions on the process, so that there is no ambiguity, so that the reincarnation process is not manipulated or abused by anyone for their personal or political interests.
The Chinese and the Communist Party have established systems in which reincarnations such as that of His Holiness the Dalai Lama must be recognized and approved by the party..
Maybe they think that if they choose their own 15º Dalia Lama, somehow that authority will be transferred to the lama they choose.
His Holiness has said that on the 15thº will be born outside of Tibet, outside china, because this 15º Dalai Lama must continue the work of the current.
If there is no genuine religious freedom within Tibet, then it will be very difficult to continue that work."
"Dalai Lama juega un juego político"
Jia Xiudon, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing
"Yo creo que se mantendrá la tradición y que el Dalai Lama se reencarnará.
The current Dalai Lama has a role in reincarnation, But I believe that this role should not be exaggerated..
Read too: Religion 2.0: from temples to social networks
For example, he cannot interrupt the tradition individually.
It's a centuries-old tradition..
The issue of sovereignty is the number one issue behind all differences and disputes.
So it's actually not China's fight with the Dalai Lama.
It's not about religious freedom..
It's about sovereignty: Whether Tibet should remain a part of China or not.
When he talks about reincarnation, many people in China believe the Dalai Lama is playing a political game.
14º Dalai Lama and the people around him who call for the independence of Tibet have made the topic of reincarnation, somehow, a political issue.
Él no usa la palabra 'independencia', dice la 'máxima autonomía', but the ears of the people here in China, when they see the Dalai Lama's specific demands, creen que detrás de esas palabras realmente quiere decir 'independencia'. So that's the problem.
The government is concerned about stability in Tibet because we believe that our experiences have shown that without stability you cannot have economic development., improvement of quality of life.
If tradition is followed (of reincarnation), and people see that this tradition is still there, I believe that this will contribute to stability in Tibet."
"China quiere un lama manso"
Robert Barnett, director of the Modern Tibet Studies Program at Columbia University, New York
"Tradicionalmente, at least in the last 200 years, There has been a role for both parties in this process.
What is happening now in China is that instead of just confirming the decision made by the lamas about which child is a reincarnation, Now the Communist Party says it wants to decide whether a lama is reincarnated or not and sometimes even say which child is chosen.
in 1995, The Dalai Lama named a boy 6 years as the reincarnation of the second most important leader in Tibetan Buddhism, the Panchen Lama. But he was removed and hidden by the Chinese authorities and replaced by another child of his choice..
They forced Tibetans to worship a child like 11º Panchen Lama, when it is almost a certainty that no Tibetan really believes in being the 11thº Panchen Lama.
This is one of the most fascinating topics in all of history.: No one in the Communist Party seems to have considered the possibility of governing the Tibetans without a lama to be their intermediary..
This seems to come from the idea that assumes that because Tibetans are usually religious, They are therefore not susceptible to rational arguments about how wonderful communism is and so they must be persuaded through religion..
Therefore, They have invested enormous resources in trying to find a nondescript lama.
They make films about the lama who supported the party in the years 30, They made a TV series about another lama who was a follower of the Communist Party and then they try to develop these children who will later be their supporters..
Every time they have tried they have failed. The children, when they have grown up and are adults, either they went to India and joined the Dalai Lama or they became critics of the Communist Party from within the system.
I think we have to see all this as a negotiation on both sides.. El Dalai Lama hace estas declaraciones filosóficas especulativas de 'puede ser que regrese o puede que no, puede que regrese como una mujer'.
This is his normal method as a Buddhist teacher to make people think.. But it is also a negotiation move with the Chinese to show them that they have made a fool of themselves by claiming that they can arbitrate on matters such as religion and reincarnation..
This Dalai Lama has been so effective as a religious leader, even more than as a politician, that there will be a great force among his followers for him to return. It is very likely that this will happen."
"Dalai Lama debe reencarnarse por el bien del Tíbet"
Jamyang Norbu, Tibetan writer and activist critical of the Dalai Lama
"No tiene alternativa. The reincarnation of the lama is a political institution.
It will have to be the choice of the government in exile of Tibet and the Tibetan people.
China will have its candidate, and you can be 100% I'm sure you will have it.
They will pick any cute looking Tibetan child and show him here and there and say 'this is the Dalai Lama'.
If we do not have our own Tibetan Buddhist candidate, then they will win.
They could make him repeat his party policies, diciendo 'el presidente Xi Jinping es una persona maravillosa', that Tibetans should not aspire to any kind of freedom of expression or independence, that they must be good Chinese and give up all their aspirations.
The ideal place for the next Dalai Lama to be born is in the Himalayas, on the Indian side of the border, where the people are ethnically Tibetan, where there are Tibetan Buddhists and they are very loyal to the Dalai Lama, to the Tibetan spiritual world.
So if you are born there, will involve the government of India. They will be obliged to protect it.
A revolution is certainly coming to Tibet. We have had a series of uprisings since the years 80, and that is culminating now. I can't predict what will happen, when will it happen, but i know, It's an intuition – and can be observed in the progression of revolts and acts of opposition to China- that a great revolution is coming."
