Recognised worldwide in his red robes and with his wide smile, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th dalai lama, describes himself as a “simple Buddhist monk”. But millions of Tibetan Buddhists worship him as living manifestations of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion.

The Dalai Lama has become one of the world’s most recognizable figures while leading a Tibetan diaspora through their struggle for autonomy and opposition of China’s control of Tibet. He has not named a successor, but he says they will be born in the “free world” — outside China.