Dalai Lama
Also called: 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso · Topic: India, a Home to Many: Diasporas and Refuge · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "India, a Home to Many"
Meaning
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual head of the Tibetan Buddhists. Each Dalai Lama is believed to be the reincarnation (rebirth) of the one before him. The Dalai Lamas gained a bigger role from the 15th century. They became Tibet's rulers only from the mid-17th century, not the 15th. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, fled to India in 1959 and has lived in Dharamshala ever since as an "honoured guest". He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Example
The 14th Dalai Lama escaped across the Himalaya after the 1959 uprising in Lhasa. He lists Four Commitments:
- Spreading human values like compassion and tolerance.
- Promoting harmony between religions.
- Preserving Tibetan culture.
- Reviving India's old values of karuna (compassion) and ahimsa (non-violence).
Don't confuse with
- Panchen Lama: a different senior Tibetan lama, also believed to be reborn again and again. He is not the Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lamas are the ones who ruled Tibet.