[T]he Dalai Lama has personally prepped the boy for a leadership role far beyond the Karmapa’s Kagyu lineage. Although an active 72, the senior monk knows that after his death it may be years before his reincarnation is identified and then groomed to adulthood. Until then, the mantle of leadership could well rest with the Karmapa.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje: the Next Dalai Lama? – TIME