Daila Lama biography
Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama, born July 6, 1935, a peasant family in a small village in north-eastern Tibet (Wikipedia link), representing the traditions connected to the school founded by Sakyamuni Buddha (Buddhism links), Chief religion of Tibet, still under the aegis of China, spokesman for the Buddha taught that the Absolute Truth on the quest for liberation from suffering.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama was recognized at the age of two years, as the Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, whose name means Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally define as His Holiness Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-Made Gemma, Kundum it meaning The Presence.
He began his education at the age of six years and completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was twenty-five, at the age of twenty-four took the preliminary examinations in each of the three monastic universities: Drepung, Sera and Ganden, the final examination held in the Jokhang, Lhasa during Monlam Prayer Festival, held the first month of each year.
In 1950, at the age of sixteen years, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was called upon to assume full political power as Head of State and Government when Tibet was threatened by the power of China. In 1954 he went to Beijing to talk with Mao Tse-Tung (link) and other Chinese leaders, including Chou En-lai and Deng Xiaoping.
In the early years of exile, the Dalai Lama appealed to the United Nations to see recognized the act of invasion of Tibet by the Chinese government, but to no avail. In the last two decades, His Holiness has set up educational institutions, cultural and religious who have made the greatest contribution to the preservation of Tibetan identity and its heritage. His Holiness gave many teachings and initiations, including the rare Kalachakra Initiation: This initiation is the largest Buddhist ritual conferred by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is traditionally given to large pools of people from all over the world, and is associated with the promotion of peace and universal tolerance, is considered a special blessing for all those who participate and the environment in which it is given.
Unlike his predecessors, His Holiness talked with many Westerners and has visited the United States, Canada, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Greece, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Vatican, China and Australia, met with religious leaders of all these countries. He met with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973 and with His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1980, 1982, 1986 and 1988. At a press conference in Rome, the Dalai Lama emphasized his hope of meeting Pope John Paul II: "We live in a time of great crisis, a time of development for the troubled world. You can not find peace in the soul without security and harmony between peoples. For this reason I look with faith and hope to my meeting with the Holy Father, for an exchange of ideas and feelings, and suggestions so as to open the door to progressive pacification between peoples. "
In 1981, the Dalai Lama spoke to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, and with other leaders of the Anglican Church in London. He also met the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish communities and spoke at a function organized in his honor by the interfaith World Congress of Faiths. His speech focused on the communion of faith and the need for unity among different religions: "I always believed it is better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than a single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas and techniques, and learning them can only enrich one's faith. "
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has always promoted an approach of openness between the faiths around the world and every culture and for this, as well as for his relentless commitment to peace and dialogue, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in world in 1989.
The words of the Dalai Lama were: "The need for simple relations between man and man is becoming more urgent ... Today the world is smaller and more interdependent. The problems of a nation can not be solved completely only by it. So, without a sense of universal responsibility, our survival is threatened. Basically, universal responsibility is felt for the suffering of another people in the same way how we perceive our own. It means understanding that our enemy is entirely motivated by the question of happiness. We must recognize that all beings want the same thing that we want. This is the way to achieve true understanding, not hampered by artificial consideration. "
Dalai Lama