Dalai Lama admitted to Delhi hospital with chest infection, condition stable

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has been admitted to a private hospital in Delhi with a chest infection and his condition is stable, hospital sources said Wednesday. The 83-year-old, a globally revered figure and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, had come down from Dharamshala for a check-up at the Max Hospital in Saket on Tuesday. "He was brought to Max Hospital yesterday with a case of chest infection. The Dalai Lama was later admitted and will be under treatment for a couple of days. He is in a stable condition," a source said.

The 14th Dalai Lama had fled to India in early 1959 to escape from the Chinese occupation and lives in exile in the hill town of Dharamshala.

At the event, he had also spoken about his ageing body and reincarnation.

To a question on China's stand on the next Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader had said, "If I live for another 10-15 years, political situation in China will change. But if I die in the next few years, the Chinese government will show the reincarnation must happen in China."

Earlier, Beijing had rejected the Dalai Lama's assertions that his successor could be from India and a nominee by China would not be respected, saying the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has to be approved by the Communist government. China's response came after the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate told a news agency that it was possible that once he dies his incarnation could be found in India and warned that any other successor named by China would not be respected.

"Reincarnation is the unique way of Tibetan Buddhism. It has fixed rituals and systems," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters when asked about remarks by the Dalai Lama, who fled to India from Tibet in 1959.

"The Chinese government has policy of freedom of religious belief. We have regulation on religious affairs and regulation on the reincarnation system in Tibetan Buddhism. We respect and protect such ways of Tibetan Buddhism," Geng said.

Dalai Lama is a title given to spiritual leaders of Tibetan people. This title is given to those who are considered among the most important monks of the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in 1935, the current Dalai Lama was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was just two years old.

"The reincarnation system has been there for hundreds of years. The 14th Dalai has also been recognised in the religious rituals and was approved by the central government. So the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should follow the national rules and regulations and the religious rituals," Geng said.