NEW DELHI, June 4 (Reuters) – The Dalai Lama will receive medical treatment on his left knee in New Delhi this month, his office said on Thursday, as the 90-year-old deals with a series of health issues.
The spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists is due to travel to the Indian capital on Friday from his home-in-exile in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala. His followers, concerned about his health in recent years, typically hold elaborate prayers ahead of any planned medical procedures.
“He will undergo medical treatment on his left knee,” the Dalai Lama’s office said on X, adding that he was expected to travel to India’s Ladakh region by the end of June for an extended stay.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner had surgery on the same knee in New York in 2024, though he told Reuters months later it was “nothing serious”, despite walking gingerly with the help of aides. He now uses a golf cart for longer distances within his compound.
The 14th Dalai Lama said last year he hoped to live beyond 130 years, extending his earlier prediction, and has reassured followers that he will be reincarnated after his death.
The longest-serving head of Tibetan Buddhism has lived in Dharamshala since fleeing Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
China, which seeks to consolidate its control over Tibet, regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist and says it must approve his successor, citing a centuries-old ritual. The Dalai Lama has urged his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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