Historical Figure
14th Dalai Lama
b. 1977
Spiritual leader of Tibet since 1940
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Biography
The 14th Dalai Lama is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served as the resident spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet before 1959 and subsequently led the Tibetan government in exile represented by the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India.
In Their Own Words (5)
It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.
Kindness, Clarity, and Insight (1984). , 1984
It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.
Ocean of Wisdom: Guidelines for Living (1989) , 1989
Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day.
As quoted in "Tibet's Living Buddha" by Pico Iyer, p. 32. , 1990
What is the Great Vehicle? What is the mode of procedure of the Bodhisattva path? We begin with the topic of the altruistic intention to achieve enlightenment in which one values others more than oneself. The Great Vehicle path requires the vast motivation of a Bodhisattva, who, not seeking just his or her welfare, takes on the burden of bringing about the welfare of all sentient beings. When a person generate this attitude, they enter within the Great Vehicle, and as long as it has not been generated, one cannot be counted among those of the Great Vehicle. This attitude really has great power; it, of course, is helpful for people practicing religion, but it also is helpful for those who are just concerned with the affairs of this lifetime. The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.
The Dalai Lama at Harvard: Lectures on the Buddhist Path to Peace (1988) by Jeffrey Hopkins. , 1988
Religion does not mean just precepts, a temple, monastery, or other external signs, for these as well as hearing and thinking are subsidiary factors in taming the mind. When the mind becomes the practices, one is a practitioner of religion, and when the mind does not become the practices one is not.
Deity Yoga (1987) , 1987
Timeline
The story of 14th Dalai Lama, told in moments.
More than six decades in exile. He hasn't returned to Tibet since 1959. His face is banned there, but his books sell in the millions worldwide. China insists on choosing his successor. He insists the institution might simply end with him.
Born Lhamo Thondup to a farming family in Taktser, a tiny village in Tibet's Amdo region. He is the fifth of 16 children. Only seven survive to adulthood.
At age two, a search party identifies him as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. The tests include choosing objects that belonged to his predecessor from a spread of decoys. He picks every one correctly.
China invades Tibet. He is 15 years old and suddenly the political leader of a nation under occupation. No training prepares a teenager for that.
Disguised as a Tibetan soldier, he escapes Lhasa on horseback during a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Tens of thousands of Tibetans die in the crackdown. He crosses into India on foot, settling in Dharamsala.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent campaign to end China's domination of Tibet. He donates the entire prize money.
Formally relinquishes all political authority over the Tibetan government-in-exile, ending a 369-year tradition of Dalai Lamas serving as both spiritual and temporal leaders.
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