The Dalai Lama, a Leader in Exile

1085 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: China's occupation of Tibet

Whilst examining the world’s leaders, there is no one who compares to the Dalai Lama, who is the religious and political leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama, (Tenzin Gyatso) had a customary childhood until the age of three, when Regent, one of the senior Lama’s, had a vision that was conclusive to having Tenzin Gyatso as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. After years of schooling in religion and worldly affairs, he became Head of the State of Tibet at the age of 16, but was later forced into exile by the Chinese government in when Tibet was invaded. Despite all the hardship he has been forced to endure, he refuses to give up his fight for freedom and treats all sentiment beings with love and compassion. Through his fight for freedom, he has proven himself to be the focal spiritual and political leader, whom the people of Tibet loved unconditionally. While his country remains in conflict, the Dalai Lama has found freedom, and has worked tirelessly to regain peace between his home and China, and surrounding nations even though he is exiled.

Tenzin Gyatso, thought by many a living Buddha, The XIV Dalai Lama (Dalai Lama means ocean of wisdom, though Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Kundun, The Presence) was born in Taskter in 1937. In 1950, at the age of 16, His Holiness assumed full political power when China invaded Tibet. He was faced with many adversities, when the Chinese invaded Tibet. The Chinese shut down monasteries and savagely beat monks and nuns on the country’s streets. He wrote many letters to other countries such as America and Germany asking for support and recognition of Tibet as an individual country; however many times the nations responded with insincere diplomatic letters and often direct rejectio...

... middle of paper ...

...uch different the world would be, is his message of love, compassion, and forgiveness to be adopted by humankind.

The words and wisdom of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama should be seriously considered. Whether or not he is the reincarnation of Buddha, (or a combination of the compassion of all Buddah’s) he has proven himself to be a great leader to the Tibetan people, risking his own life for the sake of his people and their liberation. The Dalai Lama has received much recognition; he was an incredible leader both politically and spiritually during one of the hardest times in Tibetan history.

Works Cited

Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Tenzin. Freedom in Exile: the Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. [San Francisco, Calif.]: Harper Perennial, 1991. Print.

“A Brief Biography.” Editor. The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 05 May 2009. Web. 18 February 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Suffering In Buddhism In Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a world of suffering and pain the Dalai Lama said, “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive”. The Dalai Lama has become a figurehead for Buddhism worldwide for his compassion and warm smiles. Buddhism has extended beyond meditation and even monks such as the Dalai Lama. The basic concepts of compassion and mindfulness in Buddhism are being applied in the daily lives of lay people who need it the most.

    Read More

  • Tibetan Buddhism and the Island of Kauai

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy can have a substantial amount of unfamiliar terminology and specific meanings for words we think we know the definition to. In order to ensure comprehension and clarity a few terms need to be defined. Buddhism as a spiritual movement is the following of the teachings of a fifth century B.C. E. Indian spiritual leader named known as Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or --in the case of this essay-- the Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism will be defined in a similar manner. Tibetan Buddhism is in the course of this essay will focus on one of the six schools of thought in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon. The “Oral Tradition” or the Kagyu School is the monastic linage that arrives in Kauai in the twentieth century.

    Read More

  • The Dalai Lama: A Path to Greater Happiness

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Dalai Lama is a profound believer of peace, compassion, love and nonviolence. He is considered by Tibetan Buddhists to be the reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion and was meant to lead the people. Even though he has had a tough time throughout most of his life time and has struggles to free his homeland from the Chinese occupation he has consistently opposed the use of violence. “He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.” (The Dalai Lama A Simple Path and An Open Heart pp. 800).Dalai Lama, since then, began teaching about the Four Noble Truths, in order to demonstrate that they offer an insightful path to greater happiness for individuals, and for humanity.

    Read More

  • Potala Palace: The Residence of the Dalai Lama

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tung, R. J. (1980). A portrait of lost Tibet. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Read More

  • tibetan buddhism essay

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tibetan Buddhism is very distinct, both culturally and ideologically, from other forms of Buddhism and has adapted many of the pre-Buddhist Tibetan beliefs, such as, local deities and rituals into its religious, spiritual and cultural identity. The 13th century biography of Korepa (also known as Lorepa) and the 19/20th century biography of Shungseb Jetsun are both written by yogins (people who practice tantric yoga) . Despite the large chronological gap, both have lived very similar ascetic lives and have both used their lives and teaching to influence the understanding of Tibetan Buddhism to the general lay community but also the ideology and theology of Tibetan Buddhism. In this essay, I am going to evaluate what we can learn about the nature and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism from the biographical accounts of the lives of yogins such as Korepa and Shungsep Jetsun and how this has influenced the knowledge of Tibetan Buddhists about the understanding of their religion.

    Read More

  • Temple Puja Essay

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Dalai Lama XIV has also made a significant impact on Buddhist adherents, and has allowed for buddhist teachings to have a more far-reaching effect on individuals. He has done a lot of work to the expansion of Buddhism in the Western world, and has adapted the buddhist philosophy to be more understanding to adherents.

    Read More

  • How Did The Dalai Lama Impact The Spread Of Buddhism

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was told that the Dalai Lama himself is the 14th reincarnation and the last reincarnation. The Dalai Lama describes how he himself did not step on the path to Nirvana in order to help others gain enlightenment. As such it can be seen that the Dalai Lama is a pivotal role for Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is important to both individuals and communities as he is someone who is seen as a teacher and written many books in order for people to better understand buddhism. The quote “[Nirvana] can only be reached, not produced, by the Path . . . it transcends the intrinsic nature of matter . . . being attainable through special insight affected by strong effort” can be understood through how the Dalai Lama lives out his life. This is seen as the quote talks about how just learning about the path to enlightenment through the eightfold path is not enough to be on the path to Nirvana. People must also live the teachings of Buddhism in order to attain enlightenment. The Dalai Lama heavily impacts individuals and communities as the Dalai Lama himself is seen as a role model of the faith. This is seen as the Dalai Lama himself is seen as the living example of the Buddhist teachings. As such he

    Read More

  • Rights and Ethics: What We Need

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lama, Dalai, XIV. Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come

    Read More

  • Buddhism and Science

    1899 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rinpoche, Samdhong. Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism in Today’s World; forward by 14th Dalai Lama. (Tibet: World Wisdom, 2006), 264.

    Read More

  • The Dalai Lama's Influence On The Buddhist Teachings

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Dalai Lama simplified the buddhist teachings extending the reach into the western world shaping the lives of significant world figures to achieve enlightenment. Therefore has continued to modernise and clarified the buddhist teachings and publicise world peace with the Eightfold Path influencing individuals across the world Buddhist and non-buddhists. The Dalai Lama believes that all buddhists has a common goal “Our ultimate aim as Buddhist practitioners is attaining the fully enlightened and omniscient state of a Buddha” XIVth Dalai Lama ‘An Open Heart, through his lifetime he has been affiliated many social and political issues delivering his opinion, using it as a tool to promote world peace and re-establishing Tibet as segregated from China, opposing their oppressive use of violence to control, He meet with world leaders to aid and enlighten them towards world peace. His holiness is the first to release a complete translation of ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead’, expressing the ideas of life and death allowing adherents to have a greater understanding of the Buddhist teachings and the implementation of these teachings in the world around them. The XIV Dalai Lama has significantly affected the world around him by becoming the model for Buddhist communities around the world

    Read More

  • A Tibetan Perspective on Birth and Death

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    1 Geoff Childs Tibetan Diary From Birth to Death and Beyond in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004) 41. 

    Read More

  • Dalai Lama

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    After browsing through multiple Dalai Lama Teachings I selected the teaching on “Human Rights, Democracy and Freedom”. The Dalai Lama’s message expressed how all human beings natural rights are inclusive and are necessary for our survival regardless of the conflicts or circumstances faced in society. There needs to be a better promotion of human values. The message also stated, in the time of need or difficulty humans need to come together and help each other out in order to “cultivate good human relations”

    Read More

  • Dalai Lama Research Paper

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    The title of Dalai Lama is not something an individual can earn, but rather something someone is born into. The Tibetan Buddhists believe in reincarnation, so every time the Dalai Lama dies they develop a professional search party and go out looking for the child who is the recreation of the past Dalai Lama. The men in the search committee use “mystical clues,”

    Read More

  • Comparison of Philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche and the Dalai Lama

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Buddhist way, while knowing that eventually one day he would reign in this position and have this important power. Through the years the Dalai Lama has done many things in the way of improving country relations and advocating human rights to all people. The selection taken from Ethics for the New Millennium focuses on t...

    Read More

  • Essay About Dalai Lama

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple monk, yet is perceived as the spiritual leader of tibet. Tibet is located to the south-west of China, also bordering India, Nepal, Burma and Bhutan. The Dalai Lama was situated in strict seclusion in Tibet from the time he was two years old, only communicating with his immediate family and treated as a virtual prisoner. Tibetans believed without the Dalai Lama, there would be no Tibet. In 1959, the Dalai Lama escaped to India in exile. In 1989, the Dalai Lama won the Noble Peace Prize and reached worldwide fame. His envoy of compassion and aura, draw society in and has attracted significant figures, including Barack Obama, Michael Jackson, Nelson Mandela and many more. The Dalai Lama is not only popular for his escape nor books, but for the leadership role he has partaken in society and his participation in

    Read More

More about The Dalai Lama, a Leader in Exile

Open Document