July 6th, Dalai Lama's Birthday!

On July 6^th the 14^th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, turns  76. The Dalai Lama currently lives in exile in India, having been forced to flee Tibet during the 1959 Tibetan Uprising. The Dalai Lama is recognized as the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and also as a Tibetan political leader. He is believed to be the reincarnation of his predecessors, all of whom are considered the manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was deemed the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama at the age of 2; not long after the previous Dalai Lama had passed.  Roadblocks were set up by the ruling Chinese government to prevent the Dalai Lama from migrating from his village in the Qinghai province to Tibet, but this did not deter the Dalai Lama from receiving his education and eventually being ratified as the ruler of Tibet at the age of 15.

 The Dalai Lama permanently fled Tibet in 1959 at the start of the Tibetan Uprising, which started in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and soon spread to other areas of the country. The Tibetan people revolted against the occupying Communist Party of China, which had been in control of Tibet since 1951. The rebellion was eventually squashed in 1962 and China considers Tibet to be another annexation to its state.

Since his exile, the Dalai Lama has advocated for the Tibetan people to the rest of the world.  He has traveled the world over talking to political and religious leaders. In 1989, the Dalai Lama received a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to liberate Tibet through peaceful means.  On May 29, 2011 the Dalai Lama ratified an amendment delegating his administrative and political duties to democratically elected officials of the Central Tibetan Administration. The Dalai Lama wishes to remain a religious leader, but not retain his political responsibilities.

Whether you find his policies or philosophies controversial or not, the Dalai Lama stands in the world’s eye as a leader in peace and compassion and as the voice of the Tibetan people. To find out more about the Dalai Lama and/ or other schools of Buddhism, check out our For Beginners books: Eastern Philosophy For Beginners and Zen For Beginners!