The Dalai Lama turns 90. The life of a peacemaker
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is about to turn 90 and announces preparations for his succession.
The Dalai Lama turns 90. The life of a peacemaker
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is about to turn 90 and announces preparations for his succession.
Lhamo Dondrub, in Tibetan, means "Goddess who grants wishes". This was the name given at birth to the 14th and current Dalai Lama. It was 6 July 1935: that child was born into a large and poor farming family, in a small village on the border with China, in the Amdo region, which at the time was under the control of a warlord. That young Tibetan, at just two years of age, was identified by religious authorities as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama.
Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama
(Translated from the original Tibetan)
On 24 September 2011, at a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions, I made a statement to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan
(Translated from the original Tibetan)
On 24 September 2011, at a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions, I made a statement to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan
Origins, reincarnation, enthronement: the Dalai Lama's early years
He thus became the new spiritual and political leader of Buddhists, taking on the new name Tenzin Gyatso. During his youth he studied logic, fine arts, grammar, medicine, as well as the English language and Buddhist philosophy. His final examination would be sat in Lhasa, at the Jokhang temple, in 1959.
The exercise of his political power had already begun with his enthronement in 1950, at the age of 15. One of his first acts was the declaration of a general amnesty for prisoners. Four years later he travelled to Beijing, which had by then long since invaded Tibet, with the aim of meeting Mao Tse-tung. Nevertheless, from 1959 onwards he would be forced into exile, following the suppression of protests in Tibet by the Chinese army.
The Tibetan uprising of 1959 began on 10 March in the capital Lhasa, eight years after the signing of a 17-point agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet that had been signed by representatives of the Dalai Lama and China. The document, in effect, recognised Beijing's sovereignty over Tibet: a choice that appeared obligatory for Tenzin Gyatso, since the eastern portion of the territory had already been militarily occupied and there was a risk that the entire Tibet could be as well. On that day, approximately 30,000 inhabitants of the region surrounded the Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's summer palace, to prevent him from being taken away by Chinese armed forces (there were fears he could be arrested). Clashes ensued that resulted in thousands of casualties. The uprising has since been commemorated every year by the Tibetan government in exile.
From that moment a long struggle for independence began, with the Tibetan question also becoming the subject of three resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly between the late 1950s and the 1960s. Alongside this came a lengthy process of democratisation of the government in exile.
The Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the commitment to climate and the environment
For decades, the Dalai Lama simultaneously devoted himself to a peaceful solution through countless initiatives. In 1987 he proposed a five-point plan to this end, also presented to the United States. This commitment earned him the Nobel Peace Prize two years later. The plan envisaged transforming Tibet into a zone of peace, the abandonment of China's population transfer policy, respect for the fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms of the Tibetan people, the restoration and protection of Tibet's environment (along with the cessation of Chinese nuclear activities on the territory), and the opening of negotiations to determine the future status of the region as well as relations between the Chinese and Tibetan peoples.
In 2015, on the occasion of the Twenty-First United Nations Climate Conference (COP21, which led to the Paris Agreement), he addressed governments around the world with an appeal to save the Tibetan plateau from the effects of global warming. A year later, he travelled to Milan for an event organised by the Institute for Tibetan Buddhist Studies Ghe Pel Ling, expressing himself in these words: "This is the century of unity, of peace. We must use intelligence and dialogue to resolve conflicts between peoples. Terrorism cannot be labelled with a religion. There is no Islamic or Buddhist terrorism. The moment you kill or harm another, you are automatically outside the realm of religion."
In an interview given to the Guardian and Channel 4 in 2020, the Dalai Lama returned to the climate question, explaining that if Buddha were to come down to earth today, "he would certainly be an environmentalist".
"If Buddha came down to earth today, he would be an environmentalist"
In 2021 he took part in an event together with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and a number of scientists to discuss the climate crisis. On that occasion the religious authority spoke in unequivocal terms: "The reality of facts tells us that a way of thinking centred on a self-centred mentality, which leads to thinking only of ourselves, is by now unrealistic. The future of a single individual is tied to all of humanity and to the Planet itself, to a happier humanity and a healthier world."
To champion the Tibetan cause, and more broadly peace, brotherhood and the need to protect the environment, the Dalai Lama has travelled throughout the world, receiving dozens of honours and honorary degrees in recognition of his commitment against violence and conflict, as well as in favour of interreligious dialogue. He has also written dozens of books, including one on compassion, addressed to children.
Advice for Children - HHDL explains the importance of warm-heartedness and intelligence in answer to a question from a young girl at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India on June 10, 2019.
The succession announcement and the Chinese government's reaction
Today, on the eve of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama is focused above all on his succession. In his view, the new religious leader will need to concentrate primarily on continuing the struggle for the autonomy and independence of Tibet, given that – just like the Dalai Lama himself – the executive authorities (the Central Tibetan Administration) are also in exile in northern India.
#Gravitas | Dalai Lama announces succession plan.
Successor will be identified by Gaden Phodrang Trust, says the Dalai Lama.
@MollyGambhir decodes.
Successor will be identified by Gaden Phodrang Trust, says the Dalai Lama.
@MollyGambhir decodes.
The Tibetan religious leader confirmed that a successor will be appointed after his death, speaking at a religious gathering in the Indian town of McLeod Ganj. "I am 90 years old but I am still physically fit. During the time I have left, I will continue to work as hard as I can for the wellbeing of others," he had declared on Monday 30 June, speaking from his monastery. "The institution will be perpetuated," he then confirmed two days later. A statement that promptly drew a reaction from Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to which the choice of the new Dalai Lama should be made through "a lottery draw" of a name that would then need to be "approved by the central government".
The Panchen Lama precedent of 1995 and the risk of a clash with Beijing
The words coming from China reveal just how delicate the Dalai Lama's succession is — a figure whom Beijing today regards as a dangerous separatist. For this reason, the Tibetan religious leader has already firmly ruled out the idea of a nomination carried out by China itself: "Whoever succeeds me must be born in the free world," he stated. The risk is that drastic and dramatic measures may be taken, as happened in 1995 when a six-year-old boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who had been appointed Panchen Lama — the second highest Tibetan religious authority — simply vanished. The matter has never been fully clarified: China admitted to having "taken him away for his own safety," while the Dalai Lama stated in 2018 that Nyima was alive and receiving a normal education. In reality, however, he has never appeared in public since 1995.
Chinese authorities must end interference in Tibetan religious practices as Dalai Lama announces succession plan. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
Despite the Dalai Lama's decision in 2011 to formally relinquish political power (in favour of a prime minister elected by the diaspora), the risk that his succession could give rise to fresh tensions with Beijing is very real. Tenzin Gyatso will certainly attempt to lay the groundwork for a peaceful transition — as he has always done throughout his long life.