Dalai Lama discharged from hospital

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who was admitted to a private hospital in Delhi with a chest infection four days ago, was Friday discharged, hospital sources said.

The 83-year-old, a globally revered figure and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, had come down here from Dharamshala for a check-up at the Max Hospital in Saket on Tuesday.

"He was brought to Max Hospital on Tuesday with a case of chest infection. 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," a source said.

The current Dalai Lama, who is the 14th Dalai Lama, was here recently for attending a global learning conference that ended on April 6. He had returned to Dharamshala from New Delhi on Monday.   The Dalai Lama had fled to India in early 1959 to escape from Chinese occupation, and lives in exile in the hill town of Dharamshala.

At the event, he had also spoken about ageing and reincarnation, and reiterated that he was the "son of the Nalanda tradition" referring to the rich Buddhist heritage of the Nalanda University in Bihar.

To a question on China's stand on the next Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader had said, "If I live for another 10-15 years, political situation in China will change. but, if I die in next few years, Chinese government will show the reincarnation must happen in China."

China has said that the successor to the Dalai Lama must be chosen according to religious rituals and historical conventions as well as the backing from the ruling Communist Party.