Dalai Lama Returns Home at 89: Ordinations, Audiences, and a Looming Succession Battle

Dalai Lama BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

The Dalai Lama has wrapped up a bustling winter stay in South India, returning to his Dharamsala home on Friday amid cheers from thousands, according to DD News. There, at Drepung Monastery in Bylakuppe, he bestowed full ordination on 153 monks over three days last week, urging them to bolster Buddha Dharma amid tough times, as detailed in TibetTVs Tibet This Week for January 2. He granted audiences to over 2300 devotees from Tibetans to foreigners since arriving in Mundgod, with more ordinations slated this month, TibetTV adds. In total, his southern swing saw him lead prayers for 303 monks and meet 8000 people across Karnataka sites.

Back in Dharamsala, often called Little Lhasa, he was greeted at Gaggal airport by Central Tibetan Administration security minister Gyari Dolma, parliament members, and interfaith reps from Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist groups, with locals waving white scarves and incense en route to Tsuglagkhang temple, DD News reports. This homecoming carries weight as he nears 90 in July, with a new book Voice for the Voiceless dropping in Marchdetailing seven decades battling China for Tibets culture and autonomy.

His film Wisdom of Happiness got an encore screening January 2 in the US via PRS 7th House, where the Nobel laureate speaks on compassion amid chaos and hints at a possible female successor, per Eventbrite. No fresh social media buzz or business moves popped, though Balkanweb noted his recent longevity vow to live past 130 during a Dharamsala prayer event, fueling reincarnation talk after he greenlit a successor search per Buddhist tradition. Tibetan exiles prep his Sunday birthday bash with massive posters and global pilgrims. Amid this, the US Congressional Executive Commission on Chinas 2025 report slammed Beijings Tibet crackdowns, from monk expulsions to blocking his reincarnation rights, TibetTV highlights. High stakes as his era winds down.

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