Dalai Lama: my successor could be chosen by election.

Snip from news coverage of an address given by the Dalai Lama in Helsinki, Finland:

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, says that it will fall to his successor to continue the struggle for the autonomy of Tibet, which is under Chinese rule. He leaves it up to the Tibetans to decide how the next leader is to be chosen. "An election is one option", he says.

Under prevailing Tibetan tradition, based on reincarnation, the leader is chosen in a ritual in which the right child is found to fill the place of the previous Dalai Lama. "My successor could even be found in Finland", joked the cheery 71-year-old Dalai Lama as flash cameras went off. He added that a woman would be quite suitable for the post.

Link to article in the Finnish newspaper HELSINGIN SANOMAT. Image: MIKA RANTA / HS