His Holiness the Dalai Lama said he felt “almost normal,” after being discharged from a New Delhi hospital earlier on Friday following a respiratory infection. His press secretary, Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, earlier today confirmed that His Holiness had fully recovered from the infection after three days of treatment.
“He was brought to the hospital on Tuesday with a case of chest infection,” news magazine India Today reported, quoting an unidentified source. “The Dalai Lama was later admitted and was under treatment for a couple of days. He is in a stable condition, and was today discharged.”
The 83-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is still suffering from a “light cough” but otherwise is “doing very well,” spokesperson Tenzin Taklha said on Friday. “He was discharged from the hospital at eight o’clock in the morning (02:30 GMT).” (BBC)
On Thursday, Taklha said His Holiness had already returned to his normal routine and had undertaken some exercise, even as social media channels were flooded with wishes and prayers from around the world for a speedy recovery and a long life for the popular spiritual leader.
A hospital official contacted by local media declined to comment on his medical condition, citing patient confidentiality.
Prior to being admitted to hospital, the Dalai Lama had only recently left New Delhi after attending a global learning conference that ended on 6 April,** after which he had returned to his official residence in Dharamsala, in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where he has lived in exile for some six decades since leaving Tibet in 1959. According to local media reports, His Holiness is expected to spend several more days resting in New Delhi before returning to Dharamsala.
Although he has reduced his public appearances somewhat in recent years,*** the Dalai Lama has maintained a grueling travel and speaking schedule despite his advanced age and some minor health concerns, which have brought to the forefront concerns over the spiritual and political ramifications of his eventual death and potential reincarnation.
His Holiness has previously noted that the future role of the Dalai Lama lineage—including whether it will be maintained after his death—may be discussed during a meeting of senior Tibetan lamas and members of the Tibetan community in India later this year, including the possibility that his next incarnation may be recognized in India.****
Born in 1935 and now aged 83, the incumbent Dalai Lama was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was just two years old. The next Dalai Lama would be the 15th incarnation over a continuous period of about 500 years.
* Dalai Lama Reported to Be in Stable Condition after Being Admitted to Hospital in New Delhi (Buddhistdoor Global)
** Dalai Lama Presides Over Global Launch of Emory’s SEE Learning Program in New Delhi (Buddhistdoor Global)
*** Dalai Lama to Reduce Foreign Travel due to Age and Exhaustion, says CTA (Buddhistdoor Global)
**** Beijing Rejects Dalai Lama’s Assertion that Next Incarnation May Be Born in India (Buddhistdoor Global)
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Dalai Lama discharged from Delhi hospital after chest infection: press secretary (Reuters)
Dalai Lama discharged from Delhi hospital (BBC)
Dalai Lama discharged from Delhi hospital (India Today)
