His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin
Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader
of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub
on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser
in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family,
His Holiness was recognized at the age of two,
in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the
reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai
Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara,
the Buddha of Compassion.
The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the
Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose
to reincarnate to serve the people. Lhamo Dhondrub
was, as Dalai Lama, renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang
Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy Lord, Gentle
Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith,
Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to
His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling
Gem or simply Kundun - The Presence.
The enthronement ceremony took
place on February 22, 1940 in Lhasa, the capital
of Tibet.
Education in Tibet
He began his education at the
age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree
(Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was
25 in 1959. At 24, he took the preliminary examinations
at each of the three monastic universities: Drepung,
Sera and Ganden. The final examination was conducted
in the Jokhang, Lhasa during the annual Monlam
Festival of Prayer, held in the first month of
every year Tibetan calendar.
Leadership Responsibilities
On November 17, 1950, His Holiness
was called upon to assume full political power
(head of the State and Government) after some
80,000 Peoples Liberation Army soldiers invaded
Tibet. In 1954, he went to Beijing to talk peace
with Mao Tse-tung and other Chinese leaders, including
Chou En-lai and Deng Xiaoping. In 1956, while
visiting India to attend the 2500th Buddha Jayanti
Anniversary, he had a series of meetings with
Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Chou about deteriorating
conditions in Tibet.
His efforts to bring about a
peaceful solution to Sino-Tibetan conflict were
thwarted by Bejing's ruthless policy in Eastern
Tibet, which ignited a popular uprising and resistance.
This resistance movement spread to other parts
of the country. On 10 March 1959 the capital of
Tibet, Lhasa, exploded with the largest demonstration
in Tibetan history, calling on China to leave
Tibet and reaffirming Tibet's independence. The
Tibetan National Uprising was brutally crushed
by the Chinese army. His Holiness escaped to India
where he was given political asylum. Some 80,000
Tibetan refugees followed His Holiness into exile.
Today, there are more than 120,000 Tibetan in
exile. Since 1960, he has resided in Dharamsala,
India, known as "Little Lhasa," the
seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
In the early years of exile,
His Holiness appealed to the United Nations on
the question of Tibet, resulting in three resolutions
adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961,
and 1965, calling on China to respect the human
rights of Tibetans and their desire for self-determination.
With the newly constituted Tibetan Government-in-exile,
His Holiness saw that his immediate and urgent
task was to save the both the Tibetan exiles and
their culture alike. Tibetan refugees were rehabilitated
in agricultural settlements. Economic development
was promoted and the creation of a Tibetan educational
system was established to raise refugee children
with full knowledge of their language, history,
religion and culture. The Tibetan Institute of
Performing Arts was established in 1959, while
the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
became a university for Tibetans in India. Over
200 monasteries have been re-established to preserve
the vast corpus of Tibetan Buddhist teachings,
the essence of the Tibetan way of life.
In 1963, His Holiness promulgated
a democratic constitution, based on Buddhist principles
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
as a model for a future free Tibet. Today, members
of the Tibetan parliament are elected directly
by the people. The members of the Tibetan Cabinet
are elected by the parliament, making the Cabinet
answerable to the Parliament. His Holiness has
continuously emphasized the need to further democratise
the Tibetan administration and has publicly declared
that once Tibet regains her independence he will
not hold political office.
In Washington, D.C., at the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus in 1987, he proposed a Five-Point
Peace Plan as a first step toward resolving the
future status of Tibet. This plan calls for the
designation of Tibet as a zone of peace, an end
to the massive transfer of ethnic Chinese into
Tibet, restoration of fundamental human rights
and democratic freedoms, and the abandonment of
China's use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production
and the dumping of nuclear waste, as well as urging
"earnest negotiations" on the future
of Tibet.
In Strasbourg, France, on 15
June 1988, he elaborated the Five-Point Peace
Plan and proposed the creation of a self-governing
democratic Tibet, "in association with the
People's Republic of China."
On 2 September 1991, the Tibetan
Government-in-exile declared the Strasbourg Proposal
invalid because of the closed and negative attitude
of the present Chinese leadership towards the
ideas expressed in the proposal.
On 9 October 1991, during an
address at Yale University in the United States,
His Holiness said that he wanted to visit Tibet
to personally assess the political situation.
He said, "I am extremely anxious that, in
this explosive situation, violence may break out.
I want to do what I can to prevent this.... My
visit would be a new opportunity to promote understanding
and create a basis for a negotiated solution."
Contact with West and
East
Since 1967, His Holiness initiated
a series of journeys which have taken him to some
46 nations. In autumn of 1991, he visited the
Baltic States at the invitation of Lithuanian
President Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania and
became the first foreign leader to address the
Lithuanian Parliament. His Holiness met with the
late Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973. At a
press conference in Rome in 1980, he outlined
his hopes for the meeting with John Paul II: "We
live in a period of great crisis, a period of
troubling world developments. It is not possible
to find peace in the soul without security and
harmony between peoples. For this reason, I look
forward with faith and hope to my meeting with
the Holy Father; to an exchange of ideas and feelings,
and to his suggestions, so as to open the door
to a progressive pacification between peoples."
His Holiness met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican
in 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990. In 1981, His
Holiness talked with Archbishop of Canterbury,
Dr. Robert Runcie, and with other leaders of the
Anglican Church in London. He also met with leaders
of the Roman Catholic and Jewish communities and
spoke at an interfaith service held in his honor
by the World Congress of Faiths: "I always
believe that it is much better to have a variety
of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather
than one single religion or philosophy. This is
necessary because of the different mental dispositions
of each human being. Each religion has certain
unique ideas or techniques, and learning about
them can only enrich one's own faith."
Recognition and Awards
Since his first visit to the
west in the early 1973, a number of western universities
and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and
honorary Doctorate Degrees in recognition of His
Holiness' distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy
and for his leadership in the solution of international
conflicts, human rights issues and global environmental
problems. In presenting the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional
Human Rights Award in 1989, U.S. Congressman Tom
Lantos said, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama's
courageous struggle has distinguished him as a
leading proponent of human rights and world peace.
His ongoing efforts to end the suffering of the
Tibetan people through peaceful negotiations and
reconciliation have required enormous courage
and sacrifice."
The 1989 Nobel Peace
Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee's
decision to award the 1989 Peace Prize to His
Holiness the Dalai Lama won worldwide praise and
applause, with exception of China. The CommitteeÕs
citation read, "The Committee wants to emphasize
the fact that the Dalai Lama in his struggle for
the liberation of Tibet consistently has opposed
the use of violence. He has instead advocated
peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual
respect in order to preserve the historical and
cultural heritage of his people."
On 10 December 1989, His Holiness
accepted the prize on the behalf of oppressed
everywhere and all those who struggle for freedom
and work for world peace and the people of Tibet.
In his remarks he said, "The prize reaffirms
our conviction that with truth, courage and determination
as our weapons, Tibet will be liberated. Our struggle
must remain nonviolent and free of hatred."
He also had a message of encouragement
for the student-led democracy movement in China.
"In China the popular movement for democracy
was crushed by brutal force in June this year.
But I do not believe the demonstrations were in
vain, because the spirit of freedom was rekindled
among the Chinese people and China cannot escape
the impact of this spirit of freedom sweeping
in many parts of the world. The brave students
and their supporters showed the Chinese leadership
and the world the human face of that great nations."
A Simple Buddhist monk
His Holiness often says, "I
am just a simple Buddhist monk - no more, nor
less."
His Holiness follows the life
of Buddhist monk. Living in a small cottage in
Dharamsala, he rises at 4 A.M. to meditate, pursues
an ongoing schedule of administrative meetings,
private audiences and religious teachings and
ceremonies. He concludes each day with further
prayer before retiring. In explaining his greatest
sources of inspiration, he often cites a favorite
verse, found in the writings of the renowned eighth
century Buddhist saint Shantideva:
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
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