Dalai Lama turns 74, says should live to 100

The Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has now spent 50 birthdays in exile in India.

Hundreds of Tibetan exiles chanted prayers and sang songs in New Delhi and Dharmsala, the northern town where he lives, to mark the birthday, setting aside nagging worries about their aging leader's successor.

The Dalai Lama has had a number of medical problems in the last two years, which have interrupted his busy schedule of international travel to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetan struggle for more freedom under Chinese rule.

As he gets older, there are concerns about who will lead the Tibetan exiles and push for their cause after his death.

Fears that China will appoint a new Dalai Lama after his death have led Tibetan leaders to contemplate ideas that break with the centuries-old system of choosing a child believed to be the reincarnation of the deceased spiritual leader. Among the suggestions have been doing away with Dalai Lamas altogether or naming a successor before the current leader dies.

On Monday, however, the Dalai Lama, who traveled to the Indian capital from Dharmsala, did not focus on worries about the future.

He thanked his followers for their prayers for his health and long life and joked that they would prolong his life.

“I don't know about a thousand years but maybe at least a 100 years,” the Dalai Lama, known for his humor and exuberance, said in a speech to his followers.

He also accepted scores of silk scarves from them and watched a musical performance. The gift of a white or cream silk scarf is considered a sign of respect among Tibetan Buddhists.

In Dharmsala, the hill town that is the home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, hundreds gathered at Tsuglakhang temple to listen to speeches by religious leaders.

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