His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has until recently been both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. It was in March 2011 that he relinquished his political role after five decades on the world stage in this capacity. He still retains his spiritual role.

He was born on the July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a small village located in Taktser, Amdo, in north-eastern Tibet. At the age of two, the child, who was named Lhamo Thondup, was recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.

Wishes fulfilled

The name Lhamo Thondup literally means “wish-fulfilling goddess”. Taktser (Roaring Tiger) was a small and poor settlement that stood on a hill overlooking a broad valley. Its pastures had not been settled or farmed for long, only grazed by nomads. His Holiness’s parents were small farmers who mostly grew barley, buckwheat and potatoes.

His Holiness had two sisters and four brothers who survived their infancy. Tsering Dolma, the eldest child, was 18 years older than His Holiness. His Holiness’s three elder brothers were Thubten Jigme Norbu, the eldest, who was recognised as the reincarnation of a high lama, Taktser Rinpoche, Gyalo Thondup and Lobsang Samten. The youngest brother, Tenzin Cheogyal, was also recognised as the reincarnation of another high lama, Ngari Rinpoche.

When Lhamo Thondup was barely three years old, a search party that had been sent out by the Tibetan government to find the new incarnation of the Dalai Lama arrived at Kumbum monastery. It had been led there by a number of signs. One of these concerned the embalmed body of his predecessor, Thupten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, who had died aged 57 in 1933. During its period of sitting in state, the head was discovered to have turned from facing south to northeast.

Shortly after that, the Regent of Tibet, himself a senior lama, had a vision. Looking into the waters of the sacred lake, Lhamo Lhatso, in southern Tibet, he clearly saw the Tibetan letters ah, ka and ma float into view. These were followed by the image of a three-storeyed monastery with a turquoise and gold roof and a path running from it to a hill. Finally, he saw a small house with strangely shaped guttering. He was sure that the letter ah referred to Amdo, the north-eastern province, so it was there that the search party was sent.

“His Holiness refers to himself as ‘A Simple Buddhist Monk’ but those who have meet him know him to be so much more."

By the time they reached Kumbum, the members of the search party felt they were on the right track. It seemed likely that if the letter ah referred to Amdo, then ka must indicate the monastery at Kumbum, which was indeed three-storeyed and turquoise-roofed. They now only needed to locate a hill and a house with peculiar guttering. So they began to search the neighbouring villages. When they saw the gnarled branches of juniper wood on the roof of the His Holiness’s parents’ house, they were certain that the new Dalai Lama would not be far away. Nevertheless, rather than reveal the purpose of their visit, the group asked only to stay the night. The leader of the party, Kewtsang Rinpoche, pretended to be a servant and spent much of the evening observing and playing with the youngest child in the house. Without being told where the man came from, Lhamo recognised him and called out “Sera lama, Sera lama.” Sera was Kewtsang Rinpoche’s monastery.

The next day, the group left, only to return a few days later as a formal deputation. This time they brought with them a number of things that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama, together with several similar items that did not. In every case, Lhamo correctly identified those belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama, saying, “It’s mine. It’s mine.”

"The Buddha taught that we all have the ability to become enlightened if we work on our minds. In Tibetan Buddhism, the main reason for endeavouring to become enlightened is to work for all sentient beings rather than for oneself. His Holiness does this – he is a Man of compassion and wisdom and works tirelessly for the benefit of us all."

This series of events convinced the search party that they had found the new incarnation, the 14th Dalai Lama. Lhamo Thondup was first taken to Kumbum monastery. Although this was apparently a difficult separation for a three-year-old boy, His Holiness’s immediate elder brother, Lobsang Samten, was already at the monastery. The transition was also made easier by the fact that his teacher was a very kind old monk who often held his young disciple inside his gown.

During the winter of 1940, Lhamo Thondup was taken to the Potala Palace, where he was officially installed as the spiritual leader of Tibet. Soon after, the newly recognised Dalai Lama was taken to Jokhang temple where His Holiness was inducted as a novice monk in a ceremony known as taphue, meaning “cutting of the hair”. In accordance with ancient custom, His Holiness forfeited his name Lhamo Thondup and assumed his new name, Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso.

Journey into exile

As Dalai Lama, His Holiness’s education was the same as that followed by all monks pursuing a doctorate in Buddhist studies. He studied logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. The philosophy section was subdivided into a further five categories: Prajnaparamita (the perfection of wisdom), Madhyamika (the philosophy of the Middle Way), Vinaya (the canon of monastic discipline), Abhidharma (metaphysics), and Pramana (logic). His life, though, was not destined to be one of scholastic contemplation.

In the autumn of 1949, there were cross-border incursions by Chinese Communists, who stated their intention of liberating Tibet from the hands of imperialist aggressors. In the summer of 1950, a raid on a Tibetan post was carried out by Chinese soldiers. Tibet was in grave danger as its army numbered only 8500 officers and men. It would be no match for the recently victorious People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

In October 1950, news reached Lhasa that an army of 80,000 soldiers of the PLA had crossed the Drichu River east of Chamdo. Lhasa seemed destined to fall. As the winter drew on and the news got worse, people began to advocate that His Holiness be given his majority, his full temporal power. At the young age of 15, His Holiness was on November 17, 1950, officially enthroned as the temporal leader of Tibet in a ceremony held at the Norbulingka Palace.

Facing the threat of a full-scale war, His Holiness appointed two new Prime Ministers. Lobsang Tashi became the monk Prime Minister and an experienced lay administrator, Lukhangwa, the lay Prime Minister. He sent delegations abroad to America, Great Britain and Nepal in the hope of persuading these countries to intervene on behalf of Tibet. Another delegation went to China in the hope of negotiating a withdrawal. While the delegation to China reached its destination, each of the others was turned back. Tibet must face the might of Communist China alone.

“His Holiness is extremely humble and never, never refers to himself as anything other than a simple Buddhist monk.”

Although the delegation hadn’t been given the power to reach at any settlement, on May 23, 1951, a Seventeen-Point “Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” was announced; it had been signed by representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and what they called the Local Government of Tibet.

For the next nine years, His Holiness attempted to evade a full-scale military takeover of Tibet by China on one hand and placate the growing resentment among Tibetan resistance fighters on the other. His Holiness made a historic visit to China for peace talks from July 1954 to June 1955, meeting with Mao Tse-tung and other Chinese leaders. No real progress was made.

Then, on March 17, 1959, during a consultation with the Nechung Oracle, His Holiness was given an explicit instruction to leave Tibet. Disguised as a soldier, His Holiness slipped out of Lhasa and three weeks later reached the Indian border. The Indian government had already agreed to provide asylum to His Holiness and his followers. In the city of Mussoorie, His Holiness met with the Indian Prime Minister, Nehru.

On June 20, 1959, His Holiness formally repudiated the Seventeen-Point Agreement and began creating a government in exile. With 30,000 Tibetan refugees he established a base in Dharamsala, India, and from this base has spent the next five decades seeking to liberate his homeland peacefully and spread his Buddhist teaching throughout the world.

A relevant message

Although His Holiness has come to Western attention initially due to his political situation, it has been his advocacy of simplicity, peace, compassion and happiness that has made his place in the world an enduring one. The rapture with which His Holiness is often greeted by religious and secular people reflects that he has continuously addressed the major issues facing the world today. He has always brought to whatever situation he addresses a contemplative and simple approach that is, at the same time and above all, practical.

Despite all the attention he receives, His Holiness is an exemplar of humility. Lynn Bain, General Manager of The Dalai Lama in Australia (dalailamainaustralia.org), says, “His Holiness refers to himself as ‘A Simple Buddhist Monk’ but those who have meet him know him to be so much more. The Buddha taught that we all have the ability to become enlightened if we work on our minds. In Tibetan Buddhism, the main reason for endeavouring to become enlightened is to work for all sentient beings rather than for oneself. His Holiness does this – he is a Man of compassion and wisdom and works tirelessly for the benefit of us all. He is extremely humble and never, never refers to himself as anything other than a simple Buddhist monk.”

Certainly, His Holiness is eagerly sought by many people who seek the wisdom of his teaching. According to Bain, “During his last visit to Australia, His Holiness held Public Conversations in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. He also spoke at two business lunches, one co-hosted by Green Cross Australia; he visited Chenrezig Institute on the Sunshine Coast and officially opened a Vietnamese Temple in Melbourne. He met many politicians from both sides of parliament while in Canberra, along with participating in Interfaith Prayers for World Peace with other religious leaders, held in Parliament House. He had lunch with leading business people in Melbourne and Perth, helped to inspire youth during a meeting in Footscray in association with Les Twentymen’s 20th Man Fund, spoke to more than 3000 disadvantaged youth and their carers in Brisbane, met with over 3000 exiled Tibetans, Mongolians and Bhutanese around Australia and, finally, enjoyed a meal prepared by the contestants on the national TV show, MasterChef. We stream all of His Holiness’s public events over the internet and during the Teachings there were more than 60,000 pax online around the world.”

The teachings of His Holiness strike a chord beyond the confines of a strictly religious arena. The world is hungry for his message. Bain says, “In 2009, His Holiness made 23 overseas trips, which meant he was away from India for about seven months.” His teachings of compassion, kindness, happiness and humility are always given in a real-world context and this is typified in his approach to one of the major debates of the modern world: that which surrounds climate change and how we should relate to the planet on which we live.

The Earth

Although momentum around climate change and “the environment” has picked up in the first part of the 21st century, His Holiness was addressing the issue back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He has said that the protection and conservation of the Earth is not a question of morality or ethics but a question of the survival of humanity. He has also said that how we respond to this challenge will affect not only this generation but many generations to come. His solution lies in tackling the human mind.

“Whether they are problems of economics, international relations, science, technology, medicine or ecology, although these issues seem to be beyond any one individual’s capacity, where the problem begins and where the answer must first be sought is within,” writes His Holiness. “In order to change the external situation we must first change within ourselves. If we want a beautiful Garden we must first have a blueprint in the imagination, a vision. Then that idea can be implemented and the external garden can materialise. Destruction of nature resources results from ignorance, lack of respect for the Earth’s living things and greed.”

To overcome these destructive states of mind His Holiness advocates developing an awareness of the interdependent nature of all phenomena, an attitude of wishing not to harm other living creatures, and an understanding of the need for compassion.

Compassion and happiness

Compassion is central to much of the teaching of His Holiness. He also teaches that compassion and happiness are intimately linked. Happiness, he says, is not only a fundamental human right but the natural state of human beings, although we often deny it to ourselves. Despite all the complicated aspirations that human beings might espouse, at the bottom of it all, we simply desire contentment and happiness. So it is vital to discover what will bring about happiness.

“I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquillity comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of wellbeing becomes."

According to His Holiness, “I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquillity comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of wellbeing becomes. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. This helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the ultimate source of success in life.”

To achieve a sense of compassion you need to remind yourself that everyone, no matter what they may say or do, is trying to achieve happiness, just like you. They have just as much right as you to overcome suffering and be happy. “When you recognise that all beings are equal in both their desire for happiness and their right to obtain it, you automatically feel empathy and closeness for them. Through accustoming your mind to this sense of universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others: the wish to help them actively overcome their problems,” says His Holiness.

It is one thing, of course, to want to feel compassion but just that wanting will not make compassion appear. To develop compassion, and patience, you have to wait for difficulties to arise and then practise those qualities. Anger and hatred, according to His Holiness, are the antithesis of compassion and you need to find ways to transcend them. That is why His Holiness has often commented that your enemies are your best teachers. Where friends make life pleasant, enemies offer you challenge and through that challenge you can learn true compassion.

His Holiness has said, “So we should feel grateful to our enemies, for it is they who can best help us develop a tranquil mind! Also, it is often the case in both personal and public life that. with a change in circumstances, enemies become friends … Anger and hatred are our real enemies. These are the forces we most need to confront and defeat, not the temporary enemies who appear intermittently throughout life.”

On religion and community

His Holiness, of course, comes from the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Buddhist philosophy, happiness is the result of an enlightened mind, whereas suffering is caused by a distorted mind. A distorted mind, in contrast to an enlightened mind, is one that is not in tune with reality. His Holiness has said that a biased mind cannot grasp reality and this informs much of his teaching regarding religion.

He has said that the root cause of many man­made problems is the inability of human beings to control their agitated minds. Religion is intended to provide answers for that agitation but, once you identify yourself with one religion against others, then you are creating agitation. His Holiness has written, “All of us can see that we tend to indulge in religious favouritism by saying, ‘I belong to this or that religion’, rather than making an effort to control our agitated minds. This misuse of religion, due to our disturbed minds, also sometimes creates problems.”

With his life centred on religion, His Holiness has always advocated tolerance and acceptance of the religious views of others. Out of this can arise a true sense of community, which he advocates as the most effective way forward for society. Whether you are female or male, Chinese or English, rich or poor, it comes back to happiness as the guiding light of the human experience. His Holiness says, “Human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for his or her own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind. Universal responsibility is the real key to human survival.”

The middle way

The defining physical event of His Holiness’s life has been leaving his homeland of Tibet. His philosophy surrounding that is also defining and a light that can guide you in resolving conflict and living a happy life.

In March 2011 His Holiness asked the Tibetan parliament in exile to make the necessary constitutional changes to relieve him of his role as the political head of the Tibetan community outside China. He will remain as the spiritual leader but has lost his political functions. He has been succeeded as political leader by Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard-trained lawyer. His Holiness believed he needed to resign as political leader because he feared chaos would erupt after his death, when the Chinese government and Buddhist monks would be certain to argue over the identity of his successor. With the election of Lobsang Sangay he hopes to have avoided this possibility, although the Chinese leadership has said they will not deal with the new political leader but only with representatives of His Holiness. Nevertheless, Lobsang Sangay has said he will continue His Holiness’s “middle way” approach in dealing with the Chinese government.

The essence of the middle way approach is that the Tibetan people do not accept the present status of Tibet under the People’s Republic of China. However, they do not seek independence for Tibet. Treading a middle path in between these two positions means achieving genuine autonomy for all Tibetans living in the three traditional provinces of Tibet within the framework of the People’s Republic of China. In the development of this approach, His Holiness has been an exemplar of the values that he espouses.

Soon after his arrival in India in 1959, His Holiness issued a statement indicating that the Seventeen-Point Agreement (see above) was signed under duress and that the Chinese government had deliberately violated the terms of the agreement. Thus, from that day onwards, he declared the agreement would be considered null and void and he would strive for the restoration of Tibet’s independence. For the next 20 years until 1979, the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan people adopted a policy of seeking independence for Tibet. In that time, however, the world in general became increasingly interdependent politically, militarily and economically. So His Holiness has evolved his position to an approach that offers mutual benefits to China as well as to Tibet.

In recognition of the fact that peaceful coexistence of the Tibetan and Chinese people is more important than the political requirements of the Tibetan people, His Holiness formulated and pursued a mutually beneficial middle-way policy. Without seeking independence for Tibet, the Central Tibetan Administration now strives for the creation of a political entity comprising the three traditional provinces of Tibet. The aim is that such an entity should enjoy a status of genuine national regional autonomy and be governed by a democratically elected government. Under this policy, if that status is agreed upon by the Chinese government, Tibet would not seek separation from, and remain within, the People’s Republic of China.

There are other details to the approach but the purpose here is to illustrate that the middle way embodies the values of simplicity, compassion and equality that are central to the teachings of His Holiness. Inherent to the middle way is the idea that all nationalities can coexist on an equal footing, without any discrimination based on one nationality being superior to another. All of it, of course, is based on non-violence and mutual benefit. If all governments were able to adopt these principles then a genuine global unity and enduring and social stability would be possible.

Three commitments

His Holiness’s work and life can perhaps best be summarised in his stated “three commitments”. First, as a human being, His Holiness is committed to the promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline. Second, as a religious practitioner, he is committed to the promotion of religious harmony and understanding among the world’s major religious traditions. He believes that, despite philosophical differences, all major world religions have the same potential to create good human beings and they should therefore respect one another and recognise the value of each other’s traditions. Third, His Holiness is a Tibetan and carries the name of the “Dalai Lama”, so his third commitment is to the Tibetan issue, a commitment that will cease to exist once a mutually beneficial solution is reached between the Tibetans and the Chinese.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has lived through an amazingly turbulent and challenging time in his nation’s history. It has also been a time of accelerated global change. Through all that, he has undoubtedly been a world leader in thought and action and has been a model of a mindful life.