Happy Birthday, Tenzin Gyatso, Tibet's 14th 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, reports the BBC.

After the 13th Dalai Lama passed away, the Regent of Tibet went to a lake known to show visions of the future. It was with these visions that lamas and dignitaries went around the country to locate the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. They were led to the home of then 2-year-old Llhamo Döndrub. According to the Government of Tibet in Exile, the boy could correctly identify the lamas by name, and he also identified items belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama. This, along with other tests, led Buddist officials to declare Llhamo Döndrub to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and the spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama title means "ocean of wisdom."

Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned at the age of 4 and educated from the age of 6 in a monastery. In 1949-50 Mao Zedong's Chinese troops invaded Tibet and tried to incorporate it into China. In 1950, according to his Web site, the Dalai Lama assumed politcal power over Tibet and began to attempt peace negotiations with China. In 1959, the same year that the Dalai Lama finished his final exams and earned the equivalent of a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy, Tibetians revolted against Zedong's army and many protesters were killed. The 24-year-old Dalai Lama left the country to become political leader-in-exile; thousands of Tibetians followed. 

Once in exile, the Dalai Lama worked tirelessly to promote the principles of Buddhist philosophy and work toward a free Tibet. He began working with the United Nations to help protect the people of Tibet in exile and drafted a constitution for Tibetans in exile that focused on freedom of speech, belief and asembly.

In 1987, he presented his Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet in an effort to map out a workable strategy to ending the conflict in the country. The plan included transforming Tibet into a place of peace, stopping China's population transfer policies, protecting the environment of Tibet, stopping nuclear weapons production in the country, and starting real negotiations between Tibet and China to reach a peaceful resolution. The Dalai Lama has also been a promoter of a "middle way" in which Tibet could become an autonomous entity within China.

He has toured the world promoting peace through nonviolent means. In 1989 the 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

In 1990, the Tibetan people in exile established a democratic system by which to elect the Tibetan Cabinet, which had until then been appointed by the Dalai Lama. Tibetans in exile also elected members to the Eleventh Tibetan Assembly. In 2001 Tibetans directly elected a member of the Cabinet.

According to his Web site, the Dalai Lama wishes to one day live as an ordinary citizen of a free Tibet, and plans, when Tibet is free, to transfer his political power to the interim government of the country.

Although he has been accused by Chinese officials of being an instigator of uprising, such as in the case of uprisings in the capital city of Tibet in 2008, he is an undeterring promoter of peaceful demonstration.

For now, as he lives in exile, he continues to travel the world promoting peace. He has received numerous awards, honors and honorary degrees for his work. According to NobelPrize.org, the Dalai Lama has also met with leaders of other religions in an attempt to help unify different religions. In 2007 the United States bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on the Dalai Lama for his work advocating a peaceful resolution with China over Tibet; the medal is the highest civilian award that Congress can give.