'Simple Buddhist monk' Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday

TDT | McLeod Ganj

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Calling himself a "simple Buddhist monk" who usually didn't celebrate birthdays, the Dalai Lama marked his 90th on Sunday by praying for peace after China insisted it would have the final say on who succeeded the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Chanting of red-robed monks and nuns rang out from Himalayan hilltop forested temples in India, home to the Dalai Lama since he and thousands of other Tibetans fled Chinese troops who crushed an uprising in their capital Lhasa in 1959.

"I am just a simple Buddhist monk; I don't normally engage in birthday celebrations," the Dalai Lama said in a message, thanking those marking it with him for using the opportunity "to cultivate peace of mind and compassion".

Dressed in traditional robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he walked with the aid of two monks while flashing his trademark beaming smile to thousands of followers.

Beijing condemns the Nobel Peace Prize winner -- who has led a lifelong campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau -- as a rebel and separatist.

Alongside the celebrations, however, is the worry for Tibetans in exile that China will name its successor to bolster control over the territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has ruled ever since.

That raises the likelihood of rival challengers to the post; one by self-declared atheist Beijing, the other by the Dalai Lama's office based in neighbouring India