The Dalai Lama says in a recent interview he may be reincarnated as a “mischievous blonde woman.”
The politically charged issue of his reincarnation looms large in the run-up to his 80th birthday in July.
In an interview with The Sunday Times ahead of this year’s Glastonbury festival, where he is expected to appear, the world’s most famous Buddhist monk mused about his next life.
If he were to come back as a woman, explains the Dalai Lama, “then her face must be very attractive,” or “nobody will pay much attention.”
Another option is that he might not be reincarnated at all. “In case the majority of Tibetan people feel this centuries-old institution no longer relevant, then it will automatically cease,” he said. “In that case, I will be the last Dalai Lama… end it with a Dalai Lama quite popular.”
US President Barack Obama, right, and the Dalai Lama during a meeting in Washington on July 16, 2011 (CC BY-SFT HQ/Flickr)
