Beliefs about the 14th Dalai Lama What are the Tibetan Buddhist beliefs of the Dalai Lama being an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara? Do all Buddhists agree with this idea?
The institution of the Dalai Lama, as an emanation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, is officially recognized only by Tibetan Buddhism.

The concept of tulku where teachers like the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama and Karmapa, may intentionally reincarnate again and again as custodians of certain religious lineages, is only found in Tibetan Buddhism. It's not clear if other Vajrayana traditions also have tulkus.

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is found prominently in many Mahayana sutras, and has the ability to incarnate as any kind of being, including human, to help and teach others. But the Mahayana sutras do not identify the Dalai Lama as an emanation of Avalokiteśvara.

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, though present in temples in Theravada countries (probably due to Mahayana influence), is not found in the Pali Canon.