Happy Birthday, Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso was born Llhamo Döndrub on July 6, 1935, to a family of farmers in the small village of Taktser in a northeastern province of what was then Tibet. When he was only two years old, a group of Buddhist officials declared him to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and the spiritual leader of Tibet.

Educated from the age of four in a monastery, where he eventually received a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy, the Dalai Lama (his title means Ocean of Wisdom) also became the political leader-in-exile of Tibet when, in 1959, Mao Zedong’s communist government invaded the country and incorporated it into China.

In the ensuing years, the Dalai Lama worked tirelessly to promote the principles of Buddhist philosophy and toward a free Tibet. In 1987, he presented his Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet in an effort to map out a workable strategy. He has toured the world promoting peace through nonviolent means. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Since the March uprising of Tibetan nationals, the Dalai Lama has been accused by Chinese officials of being an instigator of the uprising, but he has spent much of his time in talks with the government to allay the conflict, most recently on July 1 and 2.

The worldwide food shortage has also been a part of the Dalai Lama’s recent agenda, with the gathering of Nobel laureates in late June to discuss the problem. His Holiness said the widening prosperity gap between rich and poor not only was morally wrong, but also led to frustration and violence, and threatened world security.