His Holiness the Dalai Lama
(1935 – present)
Lhamo Dhondup was born on July 6, 1935 in the village of Taktser, in the Amdo region of Northeastern Tibet. His parents’ names were Dekyi Tsering and Choekyong Tsering. They were simple farmers, growing crops of buckwheat, potatoes, and barley. They kept chickens for eggs, and used the milk of the dzomos, which is a cross between a cow and a yak.
It is said that for a time, before his birth, his father was very ill. On the day of his birth his father recovered. As a very young child, Lhamo often spoke of visiting Lhasa, the capital, which was 1,000 miles away.
The previous Dalai Lama said before his death that he would leave clues about his next birthplace. This led the search party, sent to seek out the 14th Dalai Lama, to Lhamo. When many items were set before him, he was asked to choose from them, and he immediately chose several objects belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama, including his mala, glasses, bowl, and other religious items.
Soon he traveled to Lhasa, where, at the age of 6, he began his formal religious education. He was officially made head of state at 15, and soon after was encouraged to leave Lhasa, as the Chinese Government was becoming more and more secretive about their intentions toward Tibet. The occupation soon began in earnest, and in 1956 the Dalai Lama left for India and set up residence in Dharmasala, at the foot of the Himalayas, soon to be called “Little Lhasa.” Many thousands of Tibetans followed, as violence was escalated by the Chinese Government in its occupation of Tibet. Soon Dharmasala was established as the residence of the exiled Tibetan government, and became the political capital of the Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama worked tirelessly to free his native land, and made many peaceful and cooperative efforts toward negotiations with China. He became internationally known, traveling and teaching all over the world. He became such a strong and compassionate voice for peace, that in 1989 he was presented with the Nobel Peace prize. He then, with the prize money, instituted the Foundation for Universal Responsibility, making many contributions toward global peace projects.
During the 1990’s, The Dalai Lama wrote several best selling books, began alliances with Western scientists to study the benefits of prayer and continued traveling, teaching, and spoke about peaceful solutions to world problems. He has always called himself a simple Buddhist monk, and lives the life of one, using simple living quarters, rising at 4 am to meditate, eating simple foods, and, most notably, displaying a gentle, joyful, and humble demeanor to all. His wisdom and grace, beautiful smile, and sparkling eyes have made him a universally beloved world figure.
Quotes by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama ~
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
“Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not to, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.”
“In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.”
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a Buddhist monk from Tibet. There is a Dalai Lama quote above about simple religion, in which he says that we don’t need a Buddhist temple to practice guided meditation or religion, he suggests a temple is not necessary to a monk. Buddhist art depicts the succession of Lama ’s, these are the ancestor’s which are the past incarnations of his holiness. From conversation, quote, and art and meditation the Dali Lama has shown the world Buddhist wisdom.