Dalai Lama hopes to live beyond 130 years, much longer than predicted

The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

The Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, and he turned 90 on Sunday after a week of celebrations.

Thousands of worshippers from around the world have travelled to Dharamshala, the small Indian town in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Dalai Lama lives, to mark the occasion.

This includes long-time follower and Hollywood star Richard Gere, who is set to speak during the celebrations for the Nobel laureate, who is regarded as one of the world's most influential religious leaders and worshipped by millions of Tibetan Buddhists as the living manifestation of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion.

"I have been able to serve the Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddhism) and the beings of Tibet so far quite well," he said between prayers, clearing his throat now and then. "And still, I hope to live over 130 years," he said, sparking applause and cheers among his followers.

The 14th Dalai Lama, already the longest-lived head of Tibetan Buddhism, spent about 90 minutes at the prayers in his temple.

The ceremony was attended by thousands of followers from around the world who gathered in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

"We have lost our country and we live in exile in India, but I have been able to benefit beings quite a lot. So, living here in Dharamshala, I intend to serve beings and the dharma as much as I can," he said in Tibetan, which was translated simultaneously into English and other languages.

China, keen to consolidate its control over Tibet, views the Dalai Lama as a separatist. Beijing insists its leaders would have to approve his successor, in a legacy from imperial times.