In he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems. His Holiness has travelled to more than 67 countries spanning 6 continents. He has received over awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc.
He has also authored or co-authored more than books. His Holiness has held discussions with heads of different religions and participated in many events promoting inter-religious harmony and understanding.
Since the mids, His Holiness has engaged in a dialogue with modern scientists, mainly in the fields of psychology, neurobiology, quantum physics and cosmology. This has led to a historic collaboration between Buddhist monks and world-renowned scientists in trying to help individuals achieve peace of mind. It has also resulted in the addition of modern science to the traditional curriculum of Tibetan monastic institutions re-established in exile.. Political Retirement On 14 March His Holiness wrote to the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies Tibetan Parliament-in-exile requesting it to relieve him of his temporal authority, since according to the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, he was technically still the head of state.
He announced that he was ending the custom by which the Dalai Lamas had wielded spiritual and political authority in Tibet. He intended, he made clear, to resume the status of the first four Dalai Lamas in concerning himself only with spiritual affairs. He confirmed that the democratically elected leadership would assume complete formal responsibility for Tibetan political affairs.
The formal office and household of the Dalai Lamas, the Gaden Phodrang, would henceforth only fulfil that function. On 29 May His Holiness signed the document formally transferring his temporal authority to the democratically elected leader.
In so doing he formally put an end to the year old tradition of the Dalai Lamas functioning as both the spiritual and temporal head of Tibet.
The Future As far back as , His Holiness made clear that whether or not a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be recognised was a decision for the Tibetan people, the Mongolians and people of the Himalayan regions to make. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, there was a clear risk that, should the concerned public express a strong wish to recognise a future Dalai Lama, vested interests could exploit the situation for political ends.
Therefore, on 24 September , clear guidelines for the recognition of the next Dalai Lama were published, leaving no room for doubt or deception. Since , the Dalai Lama has said he does not seek independence from China for Tibet, but a "meaningful autonomy" that would allow Tibet to preserve its culture and heritage.
Over the years, the Dalai Lama has floated a number of options for his reincarnation, including picking a new successor himself in India, rather than in Tibet -- and has even toyed with the idea of a woman taking on the role.
Experts, however, have said that, regardless of what he chooses, the Chinese government will almost certainly move to pick a new Dalai Lama in Tibet -- one who is expected to support the ruling Chinese Communist Party's CCP control of the region.
That could lead to two separate Dalai Lamas being chosen -- one in China and one in India. Tenzin Tseten, a research fellow at the Dharamsala-based Tibet Policy Institute, said the Dalai Lama was of great significance to the Tibetan people and a symbol of their "nationalism and identity. History of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has been reincarnated 13 times since , when the first of his incarnates was born, and normally a centuries-old method is used to find the new leader.
The search begins when the previous Dalai Lama passes away. Sometimes it is based on signs that the former incarnation gave before he died, at other times top lamas -- a monk or priest of varying seniority who teaches Buddhism -- will go to a sacred lake in Tibet, Lhamo Lhatso, and meditate until they have a vision of where to search for his successor.
Then they send out search parties across Tibet, looking for children who are "special" and born within a year of the Dalai Lama's death, according to Ruth Gamble, an expert in Tibetan religion at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. A boy chosen as the Panchen Lama disappeared in China says he's now a college grad with a job. Once they find a number of candidates, the children are tested to determine whether they are the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Some of the methods include showing the children items which belong to the previous incarnation. According to the 14th Dalai Lama's official biography, he was discovered when he was two years old.
The son of a farmer, the Dalai Lama was born in a small hamlet in northeastern Tibet, where just 20 families struggled to make a living from the land. As a child, he recognized a senior lama who had disguised himself to observe the local children, and successfully identified a number of items belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama.
In his autobiography, "My Land and My People," the Dalai Lama wrote that he was handed sets of identical or similar items -- including rosaries, walking sticks and drums -- one of which had belonged to the previous incarnation and one which was ordinary.
In every case, he chose the correct one. But the Dalai Lama's reincarnation hasn't always been found in Tibet. What the Tibetan government-in-exile might do. At the moment, there are no official instructions laying out how the Dalai Lama's reincarnation will take place, if he dies before returning to Tibet.
But in that significant statement, the 14th Dalai Lama said that "the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority over where and how he or she takes rebirth and how that reincarnation is to be recognized. The Dalai Lama added that if he chose to reincarnate, the responsibility for finding the 15th Dalai Lama will rest on the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a India-based group he founded after going into exile to preserve and promote Tibetan culture and support the Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama said that his reincarnation should be carried out "in accordance with past tradition. CNN reached out to the Gaden Phodrang Trust to see if new instructions had been issued but did not receive a reply. One thing that has become increasingly clear is that the reincarnation is unlikely to take place in Tibet, an area the Gaden Phodrang Trust cannot even access -- especially after the contested reincarnation of the Panchen Lama in the s.
Other signs pointed to a specific monastery and house, which eventually lead the search party to the family home of the 14th Dalai Lama. Although the leading lama, Keutsang Rinpoche, was dressed as a servant, the child went straight to him and sat in his lap.
When the lama left the next morning the boy clung to him and begged to be taken along. A few days later, according to Gardner, the entire search party returned, without disguises, and brought with them a rosary and ritual drum which had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama.
Two walking sticks were also presented to the boy, which in some accounts, Gardner adds, the child initially chose one, then went to the other. In his first autobiography, My Land and My People , the Dalai Lama writes that it is common for small children who are reincarnates to recall objects and people from their previous lives.
Recognized as the new Dalai Lama, the boy officially took the throne as the spiritual leader of Tibet at age 4 on February 22, The Dalai Lama was a god in human form Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion , and he was the head of state. He could teach the path to liberation and he could negotiate international treaties. Of course, there was a cabinet and an assembly and advisors of all sorts, but these also were all monks, so the religious and political power was all unified.
But given that the Tibetan government operated with reincarnated successors, waiting until adulthood was not an option, Gardner adds.
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