Dalai Lama Announces Next Life To Be His Last Before Retirement

MCLEOD GANJ, INDIA—After assuming the position for more than two millennia, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, announced Monday that the next will be his final life before retirement. “I’ve had a good run continuously reincarnating as a tulku these past few dozen lives, but after much consideration, I think it’s finally time to hang up the ol’ saffron robes and get off the dharma wheel,” said His Holiness, thanking all 74 generations of Tibetans he’s served since the sixth Century B.C.E. and adding that he’s “had a blast” and “learned a ton” while living as each of the 14 Dalai Lamas, not to mention as Bodhisattva of Compassion Avalokiteśvara’s dozens of other Earthly manifestations. “I have so many great memories from my times on Earth, from inhabiting the physical form of Dromtön to founding the Kadam school back in the 11th Century to living in the majestic winter palace of the Potala during the 1600s. But there’s an art to knowing when to quit, and now’s my time.” His Holiness further added that he’s just looking forward to some much-needed rest upon moving on to permanent and everlasting death.