FREE ESSAY ON THE 14TH DALAI LAMA

THE 14TH DALAI LAMA

Research Paper
November 12, 1999
The 14th Dalai Lama
"Dalai Lama" literally means ocean priest. His vast followers, awestruck by his presence,
cast their eyes downward, fall to the ground and weep. They cannot look directly in his
eyes out of respect. The Dalai Lama realizes the magnitude of his position, but dismisses
the idolatry. His people call him "His Holiness." He calls himself a Tibetan who chooses
to be a Buddhist monk. He also was leader of a country that Tibetans say is occupied and
that Beijing says has always been part of China. 
He is considered the reincarnation of the previous 13 Dalai Lamas of Tibet, the first
born more than 640 years ago. This Dalai Lama is different from his predecessors, though.
For instance, the 13th Dalai Lama was strict and formal, and most Tibetans couldn't get
close to him except during public blessing ceremonies. The 14th Dalai Lama meets often
with Tibetans and foreigners and never keeps people at a distance. He is among 600
Tibetan Buddhist monks living in Dharamsala, in northern India. About 7,000 of the 24,000
who live in this city are Tibetans, with the greatest concentration in the village of
McLeod Ganj-the seat of Tibet's government-in- exile. 
The Chinese occupied Tibet in 1950. For nine years, the Dalai Lama tried to negotiate
peaceful coexistence with his people and the Chinese. When that failed, he fled in 1959
to India, where he set up Tibet's government-in-exile. 
Lhamo Thondup was born July 6, 1935, to peasant farmers in Taktser, a poor settlement on
a hill overlooking a broad valley in northeastern Tibet. Buddhist priests from Lhasa,
Tibet's capital, came for the boy when he was 2. Omens led them to him: from the way the
head of the 13th Dalai Lama had turned in his coffin toward the child's village, to the
vision of the house seen in a lake by a high priest. The boy was renamed Jamphel Ngawang
Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso and raised by monks in Lhasa in the 1,000-room Potala palace,
where the fifth through the present Dalai Lamas resided. As a boy, he had no idea what it
meant to be the 14th Dalai Lama-the ruler of the land hidden behind the Himalayas. He was
tutored in Buddhist teachings. 
At 15, with his country under threat from the newly communist China, he formally became
head of Tibet, which is about three times the size of California. At that time in 1950,
peace in Tibet was shattered when 84,000 Chinese soldiers launched an attack at six
points along Tibet's border. 
Chinese officials say communism liberated the downtrodden Tibetan people from a feudal
theocracy harshly ruled by a succession of Dalai Lamas. But many Tibetans say communism
never was attractive for them, and they always considered the rule of the Dalai Lama
benevolent. Fearful of being captured by the Chinese and believing he would be more
effective outside Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled at age 24 across 17,000-foot Himalayan
passes into India. Together with the 70-man remnant of the Tibetan government, he was
given political asylum. He chose India for its proximity to his homeland, and Tibetans
felt a spiritual kinship with their neighbors because Buddhism originated in India. 
Buddhism teaches people to eliminate suffering caused by ignorance, egotism and self-
centeredness. Buddhists cultivate morality, generosity, patience, energy, wisdom and
meditation. They believe good actions lead to a promising rebirth. Tibet was the only
place where Buddhist monks solely ruled the country. Leaders were thought to be
incarnations of enlightened beings, and they taught others how to calm their minds and
cultivate altruism. Tibetans say they lived peacefully until the Chinese invaded their
country. Since then, 1.2 million people -- 20 percent of the Tibetan population-have died
in combat and through massive famines from collectivized farming and diversion of Tibetan
grain to China. The Chinese gutted all but 10 of Tibet's 6,254 monasteries, and their
treasure -- $80 billion in jeweled, gold, silver and bronze statues and other holy
items-was trucked back to China and later sold in markets in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Still,
the Dalai Lama, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner for his non-violent quest to free his
homeland, doesn't hate the Chinese. He considers compassion as a means to regain Tibet's
autonomy. 
Leaders of Tibet's government-in-exile have lived since 1960 in Dharamsala, a hill
station in Himlach Pradesh, India, 125 miles from Tibet's border. From the center of
Dharamsala, there's a hair-raising climb up thousands of feet along narrow roads that
twist to the village of McLeod Ganj. Tibetans live there under India's rules, but they're
permitted their quasi-government. The Dalai Lama drafted a constitution in 1963, allowing
Tibetans throughout the world to be elected representatives of the government-in-exile.
He has established an independent judiciary, an auditor's office and other departments.
He no longer has final say on all governmental matters and can be impeached. 
Living in Dharamsala in the 1960s and '70s was difficult for the Tibetans because it was
isolated. Construction of a small airport and installation of a telephone system have
improved conditions, the Dalai Lama says. Up the mountain is the Tibetan Children's
Village, run by one of the Dalai Lama's sisters. It houses and educates about 1,500
youngsters, many refugees. Its branches throughout India serve 5,500 or so more children.
The Dalai Lama sometimes visits the village and elsewhere, but the majority of his time
in Dharamsala is spent praying, meditating and studying. He reads scriptures, studies
philosophy and often prays with other Tibetan Buddhist monks. He also pores over official
papers, listens to the BBC World Service on the radio and reads magazines like Newsweek
and Time and newspapers such as The Times of India and The Hindustan Times. 
Many people told Tibetans in the 1960s that their quest for freedom was hopeless, the
Dalai Lama says. With political changes in the former Soviet Union and East Germany, he
believes Tibetan freedom isn't that far-fetched. Obstacles remain before Tibetans have
political and social freedom in their homeland, the Dalai Lama says. The old Chinese
Communist leaders are in their 80s, and he believes the first generation of
revolutionaries still respect and obey the government regime. 
Even with no signs of political liberalization, the Communist Party's free market reforms
have improved the Tibetan economy and quelled unrest. And many Chinese sympathize with
the Tibetan freedom movement, the Dalai Lama says. Once the current Chinese leaders are
gone, "then I don't see any obstacle." 
In 1963, His Holiness promulgated a democratic constitution, based on Buddhist
principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a model for a future free
Tibet. Since then, the Dalai Lama has been the most vigorous advocate for the refugee's
own democratic experiment, while consistently reaffirming his desire not to hold
political office once Tibet regains its independence. The Dalai Lama continues to present
new initiatives to resolve the Tibetan issue. At the Congressional Human Rights Caucus
in
1987, he proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan as a first step toward resolving the future
status of Tibet. This plan called for the designation of Tibet as a zone of non-violence,
an end to the massive transfer of Chinese into Tibet, restoration of fundamental human
rights and democratic freedoms, and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for nuclear
weapons production and the dumping of nuclear waste, as well as urging earnest
negotiations on the future of Tibet.
The Dalai Lama continued what he viewed as the most realistic effort to create a
self-governing democratic Tibet. His proposal, made in Strasbourg, France in 1988,
included the accommodation of China's own interests while preserving the Tibetan peoples'
ultimate authority in forming their government. However, the Dalai Lama faced a closed
and negative attitude from the Chinese leadership in response to his efforts, causing him
to declare the Strasbourg Proposal as no longer binding in 1991. 
His travels have taken him to Brazil, England, Switzerland and the United States, where
he met with President George Bush in April 1991. That meeting ended a 30-year American
boycott of the Tibetan leader. The United States never has officially recognized Tibet,
considering it part of China. 
The Dalai Lama has met with several major heads of state as well as other senior
political, religious, cultural and business leaders to speak on his belief in the oneness
of the human family and the need for each individual to develop a sense of universal
responsibility. In October, 1989, during a dialogue with eight rabbis and scholars from
the United States in Dharamsala, The Dalai Lama said, When we became refugees, we knew
our struggle would not be easy; it would take a long time, generations. Very often we
would refer to the Jewish people, how they kept their identity and faith despite such
hardship and so much suffering. And, when external conditions were ripe they were ready
to rebuild their nation. So you see, there are many things to learn from our Jewish
brothers and sisters.
His talks in other forums focused on the commonality of faiths and the need for unity
among different religions: I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of
religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This
is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each
religion has certain unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich
one's own faith.
The Dalai Lama has received numerous honorary doctorates from Universities worldwide. In
1989, he received The Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. The Norwegian Nobel Committee
emphasized the Dalai Lama's consistent opposition of the use of violence in Tibet's
struggle for freedom and remarked that, The Dalai Lama has developed his philosophy of
peace from a great reverence for all things living and upon the concept of universal
responsibility embracing all mankind as well as nature...[he] has come forward with
constructive and forward-looking proposals for the solution of international conflicts,
human rights issues and global environmental problems.
Despite his great achievements, the Dalai Lama remains modest, often saying I am just a
simple Buddhist monk -- no more, no less.
While fighting for peace and freedom for his people and others, His Holiness has authored
many books. Some intended to teach others to tell stories. Ancient Wisdom, Modern World -
Ethics for a New Millennium is the latest book by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his
first major publication in recent years. In this work, His Holiness calls for a
revolution - not a political, an economic, a technical or even a religious revolution,
but a spiritual revolution to help us through the moral maze of modern life. 
Awakening the Mind, Lightening the Heart is a practical instruction book on developing
compassion in our daily lives through simple meditations that directly relate to past and
present relationships. Cultivating a Daily Meditation includes two discourses in which
His Holiness touches upon the essential points of the Dharma and provides a clear and
simple method to cultivate a daily practice of meditation. He also explains how we should
proceed in the effort to generate both the heart of compassion and the expansive view of
emptiness in our daily life. Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom is an inspirational
volume offering encouragement to anyone seeking a more peaceful and liberating way of
life. Here the Dalai Lama shares his perspective on such enduring themes as love,
religion, justice, human rights, poverty, cultural conflict and protection of the
environment. Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet is an updated
autobiography following the award of the Nobel Peace Prize, in which the Dalai Lama talks
freely of his life and the tragic story of Tibet, and also discusses contemporary
issues.
The Dalai Lama is a man who believes and practices in world peace, happiness, inner
balance, and freedom. Bringing peace and freedom to Tibet and to the world has been the
Dalai Lama's life for the last many years. Writing books, visiting Presidents and
officials, and lobbying for his cause has become what he is. What I believe is that His
Holiness is a great man. He is a man who has lived in exile for decades but has not given
up his cause of liberating himself and his people. He teaches about a global community,
where all countries of our planet would live and exist with and for each other, in
harmony. Compassion is another thing His Holiness teaches, to live and care for others. I
am not and may never be a practicing Buddhist, but in my heart and in myself I will
always believe that the Dalai Lama is one of the greatest men ever to walk the Earth. In
our world where aggression, conflict and violence breed hatred for our fellow man, how
important is a man such as the Dalai Lama whose teachings involve love, compassion and
peace.