Historical Figure
14th Dalai Lama
b. 1977
Spiritual leader of Tibet since 1940
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"Address to the University at Buffalo" — September 19, 2006
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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.
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.
In Their Own Words (20)
I don't want to convert people to Buddhism — all major religions, when understood properly, have the same potential for good.
2006
Fundamentalism is terrifying because it is based purely on emotion, rather than intelligence. It prevents followers from thinking as individuals and about the good of the world.
2006
Don't compare me with Jesus. He is a great master, a great master...
Interview in The New York Times (28 November 1993)., 1993
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a true Bodhisatva. His humility brought tears to my eyes.
Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama (1991)., 1991
As Buddhists, while we practice our own teaching, we must respect other faiths, Christianity, Judaism and so forth. We must recognize and appreciate their contributions over many past centuries to human society, and at this time we must strive to make common effort to serve humankind.
"A Talk to Western Buddhists" p. 87., 1990
Artifacts (15)
Well, come to our house and see us play.
hey had a band called The Untouchable, and we're like, "Oh, you've got a band, sure, ha ha ha," and they said "Well, come to our house and see us play." And we didn't have anywhere to crash, and they...
re-affirmation that our suspicions were true: the man is a genius.
electronic and industrial artists including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Joy Division, and was described by Siouxsie Sioux as a "re-affirmation that our suspicions were true: the man is a...
Living in a Berlin apartment with Bowie and his friends was interesting…
ed. Bowie and Pop relocated to West Berlin to wean themselves off their respective drug addictions. "Living in a Berlin apartment with Bowie and his friends was interesting…" Pop recalled. "The big...
Artistically, I really like those two records, The Idiot and Lust for Life,
atured on the album TV Eye Live in 1978. In return, Pop contributed backing vocals on Bowie's Low. "Artistically, I really like those two records, The Idiot and Lust for Life," Pop said. "But I was...
I don't know why he hasn't made it really big,
ol. Warhol wrote that he met Pop when he was Jim Osterberg, at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1966. "I don't know why he hasn't made it really big," Warhol wrote. "He is so good." In 1983, Pop's...
I don't care what they call themselves, as long as they're not The Three Stooges...
Ron Asheton calling Moe Howard to see if it was all right to call the band "The Stooges", to which Howard responded by merely saying "I don't care what they call themselves, as long as they're not The...
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