Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 014

“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.” ~ Dalai Lama 014 ~ Ok "Jika Anda dapat, bantulah orang lain; jika Anda tidak dapat melakukan itu, paling tidak jangan membahayakan mereka." ~ Dalai Lama 014 ~ Ok Kapan terakhir kali Anda menolong orang lain? Apakah pertolongan Anda memberi manfaat bagi mereka? Sesungguhnya setiap orang mampu memberi pertolongan kepada siapa pun. Sejauh mereka niat melakukannya. Demikian juga, setiap orang dapat berbuat jahat kepada orang atau makhluk lain. Namun, sedapat mungkin pertolongan jauh lebih berguna daripada perbuatan yang merugikan pihak lain. Andai kita tak dapat menolong, setidaknya keberadaan atau perbuatan kita tidak membahayakan orang lain. Demikianlah pernyataan Dalai Lama, seorang aktivis dan seorang yang religius, sekaligus pemimpin politik , lahir pada tahun 1935, mengajarkan cara beragama yang sangat sederhana, lewat quote- nya, ‘If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.’ Secara bebas diterjemahkan, ‘Jika Anda dapat, bantulah orang lain; jika Anda tidak dapat melakukan itu, paling tidak jangan membahayakan mereka.’ Sukacita kita dapat tercipta dari perbuatan kita. Itulah sebabnya, sedapat mungkin, kita mampu berbuat baik untuk memberi pertolongan kepada orang lain. Sebagai contoh, andai uang Anda tidak banyak, sehingga Anda tidak mampu menolong orang lain secara finansial, setidaknya donorkanlah sebagian darah Anda kepada orang lain. Orang yang menerima darah Anda akan memperoleh kesempatan hidup lebih lanjut. Dia akan bersyukur, sementara Anda memperoleh sukacita karena telah berbuat baik demi kemanusiaan. Banyak hal yang dapat kita lakukan demi kebaikan umat manusia. Namun, bila pun kita tidak dapat memberi pertolongan, setidaknya perbuatan kita tidak membahayakan orang lain. Andai pun

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 1 kehadiran kita tidak memberi manfaat, setidaknya tidak merugikan pihak lain. Andai pun kehadiran kita tidak menggenapi, setidaknya tidak membuat keadaan menjadi ganjil. Jadilah pribadi yang penolong, bukan penodong. Jadilah pihak pemberi, bukan penerima. Jadilah manusia yang bermanfaat, bukan membuat mudarat. Jadilah orang yang baik, bukan yang buruk. Indonesia, 24 Februari 2019 Riset Corporation --- Dalai Lama Biography Activist, Religious Figure (1935–) Dalai Lama, Tibet's political leader, has strived to make Tibet an independent and democratic state from China. He and his followers are exiled to India. Synopsis The Dalai Lama was born Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935 in , China. At age 15, he assumed political power of Tibet as the Dalai Lama. The People's Republic of China invaded that same year. Fearing assassination, he and thousands of followers fled to Dharamsala in northern India, where they established an alternative government. Since then, the Dalai Lama has taken numerous actions in hopes of establishing an autonomous Tibetan state within the People's Republic of China. However, the Chinese government has shown no signs of moving toward peace and reconciliation with Tibet. The Dalai Lama has also conducted hundreds of conferences, lectures and workshops worldwide, as part of his humanitarian efforts. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In December 2008, the Dalai Lama announced his semi-retirement after having gallstone surgery. Early Life Lhamo Thondup was born on July 6, 1935 in Taktser, China, northeast of Tibet, to a peasant family. He is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, India. Tibetans believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors. For nearly 50 years, he had aimed to establish Tibet as a self-governing, democratic state. Lhamo Thondup was the fifth of 16 children—seven of whom died at a young age. After several months of searching for a successor to the and following many significant spiritual signs, religious officials located Lhamo Thondup, at age 2, and identified him as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. Young Lhamo was renamed Tenzin Gyatso and proclaimed the . Dalai Lamas are believed to be the reincarnation of Avalokitesvara, an important Buddhist deity and the personification of compassion. Dalai Lamas are also enlightened beings who have postponed their own afterlife and chosen to take rebirth to benefit humanity. "Dalai" means "ocean" in Mongolian (the name "Gyatso" comes from the Tibetan word for ocean). "Lama" is the equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru," or spiritual teacher. Put together, the title of Dalai Lama is literally "Ocean Teacher," meaning a "teacher spiritually as deep as the ocean." Buddhist Teachings Buddhism was created in the sixth century, BCE, with the birth of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, making it one of the oldest religions practiced today. Originating in India, the religion spread throughout most of eastern and southern Asia. Buddhism came to Tibet in the 8th century, CE. Unlike other religions that are centered on a supreme being, Buddhism is centered on four basic truths: Life is not perfect;

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 2 people are left unsatisfied by trying to make life perfect; people can realize there is a better way to achieve fulfillment; and by living one's life through wisdom, ethical conduct and mental discipline, people will reach enlightenment. Within these truths are countless layers of teachings on the nature of existence, life, death and the self. Buddhism encourages its followers not to believe in those teachings, as followers of other religions believe in their religion's central figures and dogma, but rather to explore, understand, and test the truths against their own experiences. The emphasis here is on the exploration. The Buddhist belief of rebirth is a concept of "renewal" and not exactly reincarnation of a spirit or body. Under Buddhism, the consciousness of a person can become part of the consciousness of another person, as a flame moves from one candle to another. The second flame is not identical to the first, nor is it totally different. Thus, Buddhists believe life is a continual journey of experience and discovery and not divided between life and the afterlife. Becoming the Dalai Lama Tenzin began his religious education at age 6. His schooling consisted of logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine and Buddhist philosophy, which is divided into five other categories dealing with the perfection of wisdom, monastic discipline, metaphysics, logic and epistemology—the study of knowledge. At age 11, Tenzin met Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer, who became one of his tutors, teaching him about the outside world. The two remained friends until Harrer's death in 2006. In 1950, at the age of 15, Tenzin assumed full political power as the Dalai Lama. However, his governorship was short. In October of that year, the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet against little resistance. In 1954, the Dalai Lama went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders. However, in 1959, continued suppression of the Tibetan people by Chinese troops led to their uprising. The Dalai Lama and his closest advisers believed the Chinese government was planning to assassinate him. Consequently, he and several thousand followers fled to Dharamshala in northern India and established an alternative government there. At the time, the People's Republic of China considered the Dalai Lama to be a symbol of an obsolete religious movement, not in line with communist philosophy. More recently, the Chinese government alleges that he is a separatist and a traitor for advocating Tibetan self-rule, and a terrorist for inciting Tibetan rebellion. Conflict with China Since the Chinese invasion, the Dalai Lama has taken numerous actions in hopes of establishing an autonomous Tibetan state within the People's Republic of China. In 1963, he issued a draft constitution for Tibet containing a number of reforms to democratize the government. Called the Charter of Tibetans in Exile, it grants freedom of speech, belief, assembly, and movement. It also provides detailed guidelines for Tibetans living in exile. During the 1960s, the Central Intelligence Agency funded and trained Tibetan forces to resist the Chinese invasion and occupation with the Dalai Lama's full knowledge and support. The program was a failure as thousands of lives were lost in the resistance and is now considered merely a Cold War tactic on the part of the United States to challenge the Chinese government's legitimacy in the region. In September 1987, the Dalai Lama proposed the Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet as the first steps in a peaceful solution to reconcile with the Chinese government and end the volatile situation there. The plan proposed that Tibet would become a sanctuary where enlightened people can exist in peace and the environment can be preserved. In June 15, 1988, the Dalai Lama addressed members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. There he proposed talks between the Chinese and Tibetans

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 3 that would lead to a self-governing democratic political entity for Tibet. The entity would be associated with the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese government would be responsible for Tibet's foreign policy and defense. In 1991, the Tibetan government-in-exile declared the Strasbourg Proposal invalid because of the current Chinese leadership's negative attitude toward the proposal. Humanitarian Work The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and in the tradition of Bodhisattva he has spent his life committed to benefiting humanity. He has written numerous books and conducted hundreds of conferences, lectures and workshops at major universities and institutions throughout the world, discussing engaging in wisdom, compassion and, more recently, environmental sustainability. Unlike his predecessors, the Dalai Lama has met with many Western leaders and has visited the United States, Europe, Russia, Latin America and many countries in Asia on a number of occasions. Known as an effective public speaker, the Dalai Lama is often described as charismatic. His message is always one of peace and compassion for people all over the world. During his travels abroad, he has stressed the need for a better understanding of and respect among different faiths of the world. He has made numerous appearances at interfaith services and has met with several heads of other religions, including Pope John Paul II; Dr. Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Gordon B. Hinckley, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and Patriarch Alexius II, of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts for the liberation of Tibet and his concern for global environmental problems. The Committee's citation stated, "The Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet consistently has opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people." In recent years, a number of Western universities and institutions have conferred peace awards and honorary doctorate degrees upon the Dalai Lama in recognition of his distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy, as well as his outstanding leadership in the service of freedom and peace. Working for Peace In the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, unrest broke out in Tibet in anticipation of media attention and increased repression by the Chinese government. The Dalai Lama pleaded for calm and condemned Chinese violence. This was met with frustration by many in Tibet, who considered his comments ineffective, and allegations by the Chinese that the Dalai Lama incited the violence—an accusation that he strongly denies. While the United Nations has passed several resolutions on China, calling for the respect of fundamental human rights and a cessation of human rights violations, and has expressed concern about continuing human rights violations in Tibet, little has been done to resolve the problem. In recent years, proposed resolutions to protect Tibetan human rights have been postponed or reworded to ease any pressure on the Chinese government. In recent years, Chinese President Hu Jintao has shown no signs of moving toward peace and reconciliation with Tibet. Some say that the Chinese government is just waiting for the Dalai Lama, now 74, to die and thereby finally dispel any lingering hopes for an autonomous, democratic Tibet. In December 2008, the Dalai Lama announced his semi-retirement after having gallstone surgery. On March 10, 2011, on the 52nd anniversary of his exile from Tibet, the Dalai Lama announced that he would give up his role as Tibet's political leader. He said the decision came from a long-held belief that

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 4 the Tibetans needed a freely elected leader. A spokeswoman from the Chinese foreign ministry called his resignation "a trick." In September 2015, the Dalai Lama cancelled several speaking events in the United States that were scheduled for October on the advice of his doctors. After a routine annual checkup, the 80-year-old spiritual leader was told to rest for several weeks and remained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for further evaluation. Adopted from: https://www.biography.com/people/dalai-lama-9264833 Dalai Lama XIV TIBETAN BUDDHIST MONK WRITTEN BY: Donald S. Lopez Dalai Lama XIV, (born July 6, 1935, Tibet), title of the Tibetan Buddhist monkBstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho (Tenzin Gyatso), the 14th Dalai Lama but the first to become a global figure, largely for his advocacy of Buddhism and of the rights of the people of Tibet. Despite his fame, he dispensed with much of the pomp surrounding his office, describing himself as a “simple Buddhist monk.” It is a tenet of Tibetan Buddhism (which traditionally has flourished not only in Tibet but in Mongolia, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and parts of India and China) that highly advanced religious teachers return to the world after their death, motivated by their compassion for the world. (See Dalai Lama: A Call to Compassion.) At the time of the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, there were several thousand of these teachers, often referred to in English as “incarnate lamas” (the term in Tibetan is sprul sku, which literally means “emanation body”). The most important and famous of these teachers was the Dalai Lama, whose line began in the 14th century. The third incarnation, named Bsod-nams-rgya-mtsho (1543–88), was given the title of Dalai Lama (“Ocean Teacher”) by the Mongol chieftain Altan in 1580. His two previous incarnations were posthumously designated as the first and second Dalai Lamas. Until the 17th century the Dalai Lamas were prominent religious teachers of the Dge-lugs-pa sect (commonly called Yellow Hats), one of the four major sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1642 the fifth Dalai Lama was given temporal control of Tibet, and the Dalai Lamas remained head of state until the flight of the 14th Dalai Lama into exile in 1959. It is said that the previous incarnations of the 14th Dalai Lama extend not only to the previous 13 but further back into Tibetan history to include the first Buddhist kings (chos rgyal) of the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries. All the Dalai Lamas and these early kings are considered human embodiments of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion and the protector of Tibet. Life In Tibet The 13th Dalai Lama died in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, on December 17, 1933. According to custom, executive authority was given to a regent, whose chief task was to identify and educate the next Dalai Lama, who would typically assume control at about the age of 20. After consulting various oracles, the regent sent out search parties to locate the child. One party made its way to Amdo, in the far northeast region of the Tibetan cultural domain, where it encountered a young boy named Lha-mo- don-grub, the son of a farmer. After passing a number of tests (including the selection of personal items that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama), he was proclaimed the next Dalai Lama. He and his family were then held for ransom by a powerful Chinese warlord. The ransom was paid by the Tibetan government, and the child and his family made the long trip to Lhasa, where he was enthroned on February 22, 1940. Ordained as a Buddhist monk, the young Dalai Lama moved (without his family) into the vast Potala Palace (the residence of the Dalai Lamas and the seat of Tibetan government), where he began a rigorous monastic education under the tutelage of distinguished scholars. Affairs of state remained, Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 5 however, in the hands of the regent, who preserved Tibet’s neutrality during World War II. Although removed from international affairs, the Dalai Lama learned something of the outside world from magazines and newsreels, as well as from the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer during the latter’s seven years in Tibet. After they took control of China in 1949, the communists asserted that Tibet was part of the “Chinese motherland” (the non-Chinese Qing rulers of China had exercised suzerainty over the region from the 18th century until the dynasty’s fall in 1911/12), and Chinese cadres entered Tibet in 1950. With a crisis looming, the Dalai Lama was asked to assume the role of head of state, which he did on November 17, 1950, at the age of 15. Attempts by the Chinese to collectivize monastic properties in eastern Tibet met with resistance, which led to violence and intervention by the People’s Liberation Army that year. On May 23, 1951, a Tibetan delegation in Beijing signed a “Seventeen-Point Agreement” (under duress), ceding control of Tibet to China; Chinese troops marched into Lhasa on September 9, 1951. During the next seven and a half years, the young Dalai Lama sought to protect the interests of the Tibetan people, departing for China in 1954 for a year-long tour, during which he met with China’s leader Mao Zedong. In 1956 the Dalai Lama traveled to India to participate in the celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha’s Enlightenment. Against the advice of some members of his circle, he returned to Tibet, where the situation continued to deteriorate. Guerrillas fought Chinese troops in eastern Tibet, and a significant number of refugees flowed into the capital. In February 1959, despite the turmoil, the Dalai Lama sat for his examination for the rank of geshe (“spiritual friend”), the highest scholastic achievement in the Dge-lugs-pa sect. As tensions continued to escalate, rumours that Chinese authorities planned to kidnap the Dalai Lama led to a popular uprising in Lhasa on March 10, 1959, with crowds surrounding the Dalai Lama’s summer palace to protect him. The unrest caused a breakdown in communications between the Dalai Lama’s government and Chinese military authorities, and during the chaos the Dalai Lama (disguised as a Tibetan soldier) escaped under cover of darkness on March 17. Accompanied by a small party of his family and teachers and escorted by guerrilla fighters, the Dalai Lama made his way on foot and horseback across the Himalayas, pursued by Chinese troops. On March 31 he and his escorts arrived in India, where the Indian government offered them asylum. Life In Exile In the wake of the Lhasa uprising and the Chinese consolidation of power across Tibet, tens of thousands of Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama into exile. In 1960 he established his government-in- exile in Dharamsala, a former British hill station in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where he continued to reside. The government of India, however, was reluctant to allow all the Tibetan refugees to concentrate in one region and thus created settlements across the subcontinent, where the Tibetans established farming communities and built monasteries. The welfare of the refugees and the preservation of Tibetan culture in exile, especially in light of reports of the systematic destruction of Tibetan institutions during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966–76), were the primary concerns of the Dalai Lama during this period. The Dalai Lama traveled little during the early part of his exile and published only two books, an introduction to Buddhism and an autobiography. In later years, however, he traveled quite extensively, visiting Europe for the first time in 1973 and the United States for the first time in 1979. He subsequently traveled to dozens of other countries, delivering addresses at colleges and universities, meeting with political and religious leaders, and lecturing on Buddhism.

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 6 His activities focused on two main goals, one of which was to build and sustain international awareness of the plight of Tibet. In 1988, at a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, he set forth a plan in which Tibet would be an autonomous region of China rather than an independent state. He continued to advocate what he called a “middle way approach” between the complete independence of Tibet and its complete absorption into the People’s Republic of China. He also sent numerous delegations to China to discuss such proposals, but they met with little success. In recognition of his efforts, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1989. His other goal was to disseminate the central tenets of Buddhism to a wide audience. He is the author of dozens of books on Buddhist themes, many of which are derived from public lectures or interviews. Some of these works are written in the traditional form of commentaries on Buddhist scriptures, while others range more widely over topics such as interreligious dialogue and the compatibility of Buddhism and science. Throughout his life, the Dalai Lama has fulfilled his traditional roles for the Tibetan community: he is revered by Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile as the human incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and as the protector of the Tibetan people. In the latter role he consulted with oracles in making major decisions and made pronouncements on the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, as in 1980 and again in 1996, when he spoke out against the propitiation of the wrathful deity Dorje Shugden, one of the protectors of the Dge-lugs-pa sect. After the Dalai Lama reached the age of 70, the question of his successor was repeatedly raised. In the 1980s his public speculation about whether there would be a need for another Dalai Lama was taken by some as a call to the Tibetan community to preserve its culture in exile. During the first decade of the 21st century, he declared that there would be a 15th Dalai Lama and that he would be discovered not in Chinese-controlled Tibet but in exile. Yet he subsequently suggested that he might appoint his successor. The Chinese government rejected this idea and insisted that the tradition of selecting a new Dalai Lama by determining the reincarnation of the predecessor had to be maintained. In 2011 the Dalai Lama stepped down as the political head of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Previous Dalai Lamas were often figures cloaked in mystery, living in isolation in the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama, in contrast, achieved a level of visibility and celebrity that would have been unimaginable for his predecessors. He became the most famous Buddhist teacher in the world and is widely respected for his commitment both to nonviolence and to the cause of Tibetan freedom. In 2012 he won the Templeton Prize. Donald S. LopezThe Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica Adopted from: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dalai-Lama-XIV Dalai Lama Biography The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet is recognized worldwide as the 'Man of Peace'. Learn about the childhood, life & timeline of Dalai Lama, in this biography. Quick Facts Also Known As: Tenzin Gyatso, Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, Born Lhamo Dondrub Famous As: Spiritual Leader of Tibet Nationality: Tibetan Birth Date: July 6, 1935 Age: 82 Years Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 7 Sun Sign: Cancer Height: 1.7 M Born In: Taktser, Qinghai Father: Choekyong Tsering Mother: Diki Tsering Siblings: Jetsun Pema, Thubten Jigme Norbu, Tsering Dolma Net Worth: $100 Million As of Apr 23, 2017 The longest living Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th and the present Dalai Lama and holds the profile of a spiritual and political leader of Tibet. Head monk of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lamas are said to be reincarnated souls in the line of tulkus, who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion. Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and in the tradition of Bodhisattva, Dalai Lamas are said to spend their entire life committed to promoting humanity. These souls chose to be reincarnated instead of attaining ‘nirvana’ for the benefit of the society and mankind. Dalai Lama is a combination of Mongolian word, Dalai and Tibetan word lama. While former means ocean, the latter stands for teacher. Since 1391 until date, there have been 14 Dalai Lamas, from the first Gedun Drupa until the present Tenzin Gyatso. Coming back to the 14th Dalai Lama, he was appointed at the age of two and was formally recognized when he was 15. Fearing assassination, he fled from Tibet and stationed himself and thousands of refugees in Dharmasala Himachal Pradesh. He established the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and has been an advocator for the Tibetan across the globe. Ever since his enthronement, he has strived to make Tibet an independent and democratic state, free from the dominance by People’s Republic of China. He strongly preaches as well as practices the importance of non-violence and peace and significance of compassion. For his outstanding achievements and relentless work on peace, he has been bestowed with the Nobel Peace Prize. Childhood & Early Life • Born to a farming family in a small hamlet located in Takster, Amdo, north-eastern Tibet, Lhamo Donrub, as he was then christened, was fifth of the sixteen children in the family. He was one of the seven to survive childhood. • If the legends are to be believed, it is said that there were numerous omens and spiritual signs that intercepted Lhamo as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. • The head of the preserved body of the 13th Dalai Lama which was facing southeast had mysteriously turned northeast, indicating the direction in which his successor would be found. Later on, the Regent, Reting Rinpoche, had a vision which indicated Amdo as the region where the successor would be found. • Interestingly, when young Lhamo was presented with various relics, some of which belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama and some not, he immediately recognized those that were owned by his predecessor. Thus, at the tender age of two, young Lhamo was proclaimed as the 14th Dalai Lama was renamed Tenzin Gyatso. • Gyatso was not enthroned until the age of fifteen. As a result, the Regent acted as the head of the Tibetan parliament or until that time. • Gyatso received his monastic education starting at the age of six. While Yongdzin Trijang Rinpoche was his junior teacher, Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche served as his senior teacher.

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 8 • It was at the age of 23 that His Holiness (as he referred to on the Dalai Lama website) took his final examination at Lhasa's Jokhang Temple during the annual Monlam or prayer Festival. He passed the exam with distinction and was awarded Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest-level degree, equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy. Role as a Leader • Meanwhile, relations between People’s Republic of China and Tibet had worsened in Tenzin Gyatso’s growing years. Ma Bufang prevented the Tibetans from gaining independence. He even threatened Tibet with aerial bombardment lest it seeked helped from the Japanese. • Ma Bufang attacked various Tibetan Buddhist monasteries such as the Tsang monastery and Labrang monastery. • In 1950, the army of the People's Republic of China had defeated the Tibetan counterparts and marched up to the edge of the Dalai Lama's territory, sending a delegation thereafter. Almost a month later, the 14th Dalai Lama ascended to His throne, assuming full political power and was formally adjudged as the temporal ruler of Tibet. • His first major political move was when he sent a delegation from Tibet to Beijing in 1950, which endorsed the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. • Four years later, along with the 10th Panchen Lama, he crossed borders to meet the Chinese leader Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai for initiating peace talks. He attended the first session of the National People's Congress as a delegate. Later on, he was selected as a deputy chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a post he officially held until 1964 • With the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the brutal suppression of the same in the Lhasa region by the Chinese troops, the Dalai Lama was forced to escape into exile for the fear of assassination. Assisted by the CIA Special Activities Division, the Dalai Lama crossed the border to reach Tezpur in Assam, India. • His Holiness established a Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamsala, a city in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The city came to be known as ‘Little Lhasa’. Since then, His Holiness has been living in Dharamsala. • Accompanying him were almost 80,000 Tibetans refugees who followed him through the journey and settled in Dharamsala. His Holiness settled them in various agricultural settlements • Seeking to preserve the Tibetan culture and education system, the Dalai Lama established a Tibetan educational system in order to teach the Tibetan children the language, history, religion, and culture. In the following years, he started the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, both of which became the primary university for Tibetans in India. • His Holiness not just focussed on teaching the refugees the Tibetan culture, history and religion, he even initiated re-founding several monasteries and nunneries. The latter was basically his attempt to uphold and preserve the Tibetan Buddhist teaching and lifestyle. • After the Chinese invasion, the Dalai Lama, through his Central Tibetan Administration, made appeals in the United Nations for the rights of Tibetans. The appeals led to the formation of three resolutions, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961 and 1965. • Each of the resolutions targeted China to provide Tibetans the basic human rights. Acting further to the cause, His Holiness established a democratic constitution, idolizing it upon the Universal

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 9 Declaration of Human Rights in 1963. He created an elected parliament and an administration to champion his cause. • Almost seven years later, the Dalai Lama opened to the world one of the most important institutions of Tibetology - the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala. Housing more than 80,000 manuscripts and important knowledge resources related to Tibetan history, politics and culture, the institution is a mecca for someone who wants to get in-depth information about Tibetan history and its culture. • In 1973, His Holiness met Pope Paul VI in Vatican City. Since then, he visited Pope John Paul II on numerous occasions in 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990 and 2003. • He is also believed to have held extensive interfaith dialogue with people of the Jewish faith. While he first met them in Dharamshala, where a delegation of Jewish teachers had come, he also visited Israel thrice and even had a meeting with the Chief Rabbi of the country. • In 1987, he travelled all the way to the West for the Congressional Human Rights Caucus held in Washington, D.C, where he talked about Tibet turning into a ‘zone of peace’ or a sanctuary where enlightened people could retreat and live in peace without nuclear weapons. • The plan which was mostly sketchy and imprecise turned to become a proposal, later on being popularly known as the ‘Strasbourg Proposal’. According to it, he professed for a self-governing Tibet ‘in association with the People's Republic of China’. However, in 1991 the plan was rejected by the Tibetan Government in Exile because of Chinese leadership’s negative attitude towards the proposal.. • In 2007, the Dalai Lama participated in the Third Meeting of the Board of World Religious Leaders held in Amritsar India. Currently a member of the Board of World Religious Leaders as part of The Elijah Interfaith Institute, he was there to discuss on the topic of love and forgiveness. • The Dalai Lama has conducted numerous teaching activities across various institutions in the US. The first was when he was selected as the Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Thereafter, he gave lectures at the University of Michigan, conducted a series of teachings at Lehigh University and gave a public lecture at the Colgate University. Perspective & Opinion on Social Causes • His Holiness the Dalai Lama has held strong viewpoints about various social causes. To start off with, he is a strong advocator of democracy and non-violence and considers himself as the messenger of India, who is mainly assisting in spreading the message of non-violence and religious harmony. He envisions a world where tolerance and dialogue precedes violence and discord. • The Dalai Lama’s take on abortion is not a very rigid one. Though he condemns the act and considers it sacrilegious, in special cases where the unborn child can be retarded after birth or when there is a harm of life during pregnancy, he thinks it to be ethically acceptable. • On the economic front, His Holiness has firm belief in true Marxist policy and not those practiced by certain countries. He believes that Marxism is the only economic theory that is concerned with equal distribution of wealth and equitable utilisation of the means of production. It also pays equal importance on all the class of the society, right from working class to those who are underprivileged and victims of the minority class who face exploitation. • The Dalai Lama strongly upholds the cause for safeguarding the environment. He has given numerous talks across the globe about the cause. He believes in preserving the environment and conserving the wildlife.

Brainy Quote ~ Dalai Lama 001 Page 10 • Other social aspects which have drawn the attention of His Holiness include women’s rights and health. While he claims himself as a feminist and proclaims that women have the ability to create a compassionate world due to their nurturing nature, health is also supremely important and only a healthy living can help attain peace of mind, body and soul. Awards & Achievements • He was honoured with Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent efforts for the liberation of Tibet. • In 2005, Dalai Lama was proffered the Christmas Humphreys Award by the Buddhist Society in United Kingdom. • His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the proud recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award, which was conferred upon him by the American lawmakers in 2007. Trivia • "A dirty foot is a pure foot" is reportedly quoted by one of the fourteen Dalai Lamas. Practicing what he preaches, he is said to wash his feet every six months in accordance to his beliefs. Adopted from: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/dalai-lama-21.php --o0o--

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