The world is celebrating the Dalai Lama’s 87th birthday today. The 14th Dalai Lama, known to Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche, was born on July 6, 1935, in a small village in the remote Amdo region of Tibet. According to the Tibetan calendar, his birthday falls on the 5th day of the Wood-Pig year, the 5th month. A worldwide Tibetan spiritual leader, the global face of the Tibetan exile movement is known for his vision, his belief in love and compassion, and his love for India.
Compassion naturally breeds tolerance and forgiveness. It allows us to appreciate that even those we consider to be enemies are human beings with a right to be happy. Your enemy can be your best teacher because he teaches the possibility of unconditional compassion. — Dalai Lama (@Dalai Lama) 5 July 2022
first dalai lama
Gedun Drupa is considered the first Dalai Lama. He was reportedly born in a cowshed in the Tsang region of central Tibet and his parents were from a nomadic tribe. In 1411, when he was about 20 years old, he is believed to have taken the vow of a bhikkhu (monk) from the abbot of the Narthang Monastery. He founded Tashi Lhunpo in Shigatse, and died at the age of 83–84 while meditating.
14th Dalai Lama: 5 Interesting Facts
1) The 14th Dalai Lama is the longest-reigning and longest-lived of all his predecessors
2) The Dalai Lama has some interesting hobbies – gardening and repairing old clocks apart from meditation. He is known for his keen interest in science.
3) According to reports, the 14th Dalai Lama, when he was young, and his family were held for ransom by a Chinese chieftain. The Tibetan government paid the money and then he and his family reached Lhasa. He became a monk at the age of six.
4) When the Dalai Lama was young, he became close friends with Austrian mountaineer and explorer Heinrich Harrer, whose book ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ is inspired by this friendship.
5) Interestingly, the family of the 14th Dalai Lama, despite being from Tibet, did not speak Tibetan. They spoke a Chinese dialect that existed in the western provinces of China.
14th Dalai Lama and his India Connection
TeaHe is a Buddhist scholar, known for his simplicity and distinctive spirited style And for whom Mahatma Gandhi is the most influential leader of the 20th century for his idea of non-violence, he believes that India is the only country that has the ability to combine its ancient wisdom with modern education. Speaking to a congregation of Tibetans who organized His Holiness’s Longevity Dedication Ceremony last month, the spiritual leader said, “I’m in my eighties now, but I’ve determined that whenever I’m in my nineties or so. I am one hundred in the past, I will try to work for Tibet. I am in good health and my mind is clear, so I intend to live for at least the next 25 years. The sun will shine once again over Tibet. Freedom It’ll be fine.”
In 1959, occupying Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa and deported the Dalai Lama and more than 80,000 Tibetans to India and neighboring countries. Arriving in India after a three-week long treacherous journey, the Dalai Lama first resided for almost a year in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. On March 10, 1960, just before leaving for Dharamsala, which also serves as the headquarters of the Tibetan Establishment in Exile, the Dalai Lama said: “For those of us in exile, I said our priority was rehabilitation and our There must be continuity. Cultural traditions. We, Tibetans, will eventually prevail in achieving independence for Tibet.”
Currently, India is home to approximately 100,000 Tibetans and a government-in-exile that has never been recognized by any country.
(with IANS inputs)