According to Buddhism a person stops being reincarnated once they've achieved enlightenment. How do Tibetan Buddhist reconcile the fact that the Dalai Lama keeps being reincarnated with this belief?

Answer 1

Tibetan Buddhism is part of the Mahayana system of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism believes in bodhisattvas--enlightened beings who choose to be reborn over and over again in samsara to help save other beings rather than leaving samsara behind. Therefore, Geluk Buddhists (practitioners of the Dalai Lama's Buddhism) believe that the Dalai Lama is a bodhisattva. In fact, the Dalai Lama is believed to be one of the many incarnations of a famous Mahayana bodhisattva named Avalokiteshvara.