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Dalai Lama wants to give up ceremonial duties

The Dalai Lama wants to give up his ceremonial duties as head of the Tibetan state-in-exile, an aide said Tuesday.
Dalai Lama
The Dali Lama has lived in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala since he fled Tibet in 1959. Mustafa Quraishi / AP
/ Source: The Associated Press

The Dalai Lama wants to give up his ceremonial duties as head of the Tibetan state-in-exile, an aide said Tuesday.

The Dalai Lama effectively serves two roles: He is both the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists and a ceremonial leader of their government, which operates in exile since Chinese troops marched into their Himalayan homeland in the 1950s.

The Dalai Lama

Slideshow  25 photos

The Dalai Lama

See images of the life of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14 Dalai Lama and exiled spiritual leader of Tibet’s Buddhists.

Spokesman Tenzin Taklha said Tuesday that the Dalai Lama cannot renounce his spiritual duties, but plans to ask parliament if he can stop his ceremonial ones next year.

Those duties include addressing the parliament and signing resolutions.

The 75-year-old leader has lived in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala since he fled Tibet in 1959.