Overview

• Peace prayers in McLeod Ganj on July 6 closed a week of festivities celebrating his 90th birthday
• A congratulatory message from India’s prime minister acknowledged his enduring leadership among Tibetan exiles
• On his first day as a nonagenarian, he expressed hope to live another 30 to 40 years to continue teaching Buddhist principles
• He assigned the Ganden Phodrang Trust exclusive authority to identify a successor born outside Chinese rule
• China responded by reaffirming its 2007 regulations that it must approve any future Dalai Lama