I was among a small group of journalists from around the world who assembled at the Dalai Lama’s residence to hear his take on the bloodshed. It was March 2008 and anti-China protests inside Tibet had turned violent, attracting global media attention. I first encountered the Dalai Lama at a difficult moment for him and the Tibetan people. Tibetan exiles set fire to Chinese goods in Dharamshala in 2008 after a crackdown by Chinese troops against protests in Tibet. But Beijing rejects this: it has labelled the Dalai Lama a wolf in monk’s robes and considers him a dangerous separatist seeking to split Tibet from China. The policy seeks to gain “genuine autonomy” for Tibetans while the region remains under the Chinese government. Since the 1980s, the Dalai Lama has advocated a “middle way approach” to finding a negotiated resolution with China over the Tibet issue. The town hosts the Central Tibetan Administration, also known as the Tibetan government in exile, which represents hundreds of thousands of Tibetans who have fled their homeland since it was annexed by China. China has invested heavily in the development of the region but human rights groups claim Chinese assimilation policies are destroying Tibet’s unique cultural identity.īeijing has labelled the Dalai Lama a wolf in monk’s robes and considers him a dangerous separatist seeking to split Tibet from China.įor more than 60 years, the Dalai Lama has lived in a compound with a garden where he walks each morning if it is not raining, near a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Dharamshala, a picturesque Himalayan hill station in northern India. Tibet has undergone sweeping changes in his absence. But he fled his homeland in 1959 after a Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule was forcefully repressed. Dalai Lamas, or their regents, governed much of the Tibetan plateau with varying degrees of autonomy from the 17th century until China occupied Tibet in 1950.Īfter he was “discovered” (more on that later), the current Dalai Lama was enthroned in 1940 and undertook monastic training in Tibet, achieving the highest doctorate in Buddhist philosophy. Bodhisattvas are beings “inspired by the wish to attain complete enlightenment, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help all living beings”, says the Dalai Lama’s official description.ĭalai Lamas have played a dominant role in Tibetan politics in addition to their spiritual leadership. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th in a line of monks going back five centuries who are believed to be incarnations of the revered Avalokiteśvara or Chenrezig – a Bodhisattva of Compassion described as the patron saint of Tibet. Several hundred special reincarnational lineages have been identified in Tibet, the most respected being that of the Dalai Lama. Tibetan Buddhists believe all beings come to this present life from a previous one and that they will be reborn again after death. Since China’s occupation of Tibet 70 years ago, he has come to symbolise the struggle of his people known globally by the iconic slogan, Free Tibet. The Dalai Lama, who is referred to by followers as His Holiness, won the 1989 Nobel peace prize for “advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect”. The monk known for his trademark saffron and claret robes is one of the world’s most recognisable religious figures. Steele Papers, Special Collections, Arizona State University Libraries and Getty Images Who is the Dalai Lama? The Dalai Lama aged four at Kumbum Monastery in 1939 and teaching in Colorado, United States, in 2016. How was the Dalai Lama chosen for his job? Why do the Chinese call him a “wolf in monk’s robes”? And what is at stake in choosing his successor? And, while the Dalai Lama describes himself as a “simple Buddhist monk”, even the anticipation of his reincarnation can get superpowers squabbling. The Dalai Lama’s death is likely to herald a struggle between China and Tibetans over who controls Tibetan Buddhism. A process steeped in mysticism, which once played out in relative obscurity on the Tibetan plateau, will next time attract global attention. “In one dream, I was climbing steps, 13 steps, which I interpreted to relate to the prediction that I could live to the age of 113.”ĭespite these assurances, there’s speculation about what will happen when the time comes to find the Dalai Lama’s successor. “I’ve had dreams about living long,” the Dalai Lama told followers in 2019. Other spiritual signs back up that divination. The spritely 86-year-old often cites an 18th century prophecy that he, the 14th Dalai Lama, will live to the age of 113. But the Dalai Lama reckons he’ll be around for at least two more. He’s been at the helm of Tibetan Buddhism for eight decades. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size
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