Where dalailama.com Addresses the Dalai Lama's Retirement and Reincarnation

Updated

The official website of the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, dalailama.com, addresses retirement and reincarnation through a dedicated topic section labeled "Retirement and Reincarnation" in the site's main navigation. That section is the place to look for the Office's own statements on both subjects; the site presents them as standing reference pages rather than as news items, so they remain reachable even as newer announcements push other content down the news feed.

How the site is organized around this topic

The navigation on dalailama.com groups content by theme rather than by date. Alongside entries such as Messages, Buddhism, Tibet, and Teachings, the menu lists Retirement and Reincarnation as its own item. The same menu also carries related thematic entries — Compassion and Human Values, World Peace, Environment, Religious Harmony — which indicates the site treats these as enduring subject areas with their own pages.

Two practical consequences follow:

  • The section is a fixed entry point, not a feed. You reach it from the menu on any page, so you do not need to search the news archive to find the Office's position on either issue.
  • It sits apart from the news stream. Latest News items on the homepage are dated announcements (for example, prayers offered for His Holiness's long life, or congratulatory letters to public figures). Those are time-bound; the Retirement and Reincarnation section is where the topic itself is set out.

What to expect when you open the section

The site describes itself as "The Official Website of The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama," and the section sits within that Office's own publishing structure. That matters for how you read it: statements there carry the Office's authority in a way that interviews, transcripts, or third-party coverage do not.

The navigation also includes an Articles, Transcripts and Interviews entry and a Speeches entry. These can contain related material, but they are records of particular occasions. If your question is "what is the official position," start with the dedicated section; use the articles and transcripts to see how the position has been expressed in specific settings.

A note on dates and currency

The site's dated content visible on the homepage runs into late 2026, including a photo report of a meeting with a U.S. Congressional delegation at His Holiness's residence in Dharamsala on October 21, 2026. Because the site publishes continuously, check the section page itself for any update notice rather than relying on a secondary summary of what it says.

Reading the section well

A few habits make the section more useful:

  1. Read the section page before commentary about it. Public discussion of retirement and reincarnation often blends the Office's statements with outside interpretation. The section gives you the primary text to compare against.
  2. Distinguish the two subjects. Retirement and reincarnation are separate questions with separate answers; the section's combined label does not mean the two are treated as one issue. Read each part on its own terms.
  3. Use the site's own cross-references. Where the section points to teachings, messages, or transcripts, follow those links — they show the same themes in the Office's other formats.
  4. Check the language toggle. The site offers a language menu alongside Search and Social links; if English is not your preferred reading language, look for an available translation before quoting wording.

Related resources on the same site

If your interest extends beyond the two topics, the navigation maps the rest of the Office's publishing:

Menu entry What it covers
The Dalai Lama Background on His Holiness
Schedule Upcoming and recent engagements
News Dated announcements from the Office
In Pictures / Videos Photo reports and video
Messages Thematic statements, including on compassion, peace, environment, and religious harmony
Buddhism / Teachings Buddhist teaching material and practical advice for attending teachings in India
Office Public audiences, private audiences, media interviews, invitations, contact
Books Published works

The Office section is the right place if you need to reach the Office directly rather than read its statements — for example, to inquire about an invitation or a media request.

The short answer

Go to dalailama.com and select Retirement and Reincarnation from the main menu. That section is where the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama sets out its own account of both matters, and it is the appropriate source to cite when you need the official position rather than a summary of it.