Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death, ending speculation ignited by his remark that he might be the last person

Tibetan Parliament-in-exile member Tenzing Jigdal Thursday termed China an “atheist country” that had been defaming the Dalai Lama for a long time and asserting that the incarnation decision would be taken by the established institution and the leader of Tibetan Buddhist himself.

The 14th Dalai Lama turns 90 on Sunday and is expected to give his clearest signal yet on how his reincarnation will be determined at the event in Dharamshala, India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.