Ruven Afanador for TIME
TIME

The Dalai Lama Has Been the Face of Buddhism for 60 Years. China Wants to Change That

The Dalai Lama in Dharamsala in February.
Ruven Afanador for TIME The Dalai Lama in Dharamsala in February, 2019.

Morning has broken on the cedar-strewn foothills of the Himalayas. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama sits in meditation in his private chapel in Dharamsala, a ramshackle town perched on the upper reaches of North India’s Kangra Valley. Rousing slowly, he unfolds his legs with remarkable agility for a man of 83, finds the red felt slippers placed neatly beneath his seat and heads outside to where a crowd has already gathered.

Read the full TIME cover story here.

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