The Dalai Lama is the name given to the leader of all affairs concerned with the religious Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. In other words, the Dalai Lama is the religious head of Buddhists in Tibet. However, the Dalai Lama’s patronage extends to Buddhists all over the world, and He is seen as a holy figure, along similar lines as the Vatican Pope. The post of the Dalai Lama is traditionally given to the person who people believe is the reincarnation of God, and this is generally decided at the time of birth. There have been 13 Dalai Lamas so far, with the 14th Dalai Lama currently in position. The first Dalai Lama was born in the year 1391, and the current Dalai Lama was born in 1935.
The current and 14th Dalai Lama’s real name is Lhamo Dondrub, and He is religiously called Tenzin Gyatso. The Dalai Lama has many distinctions to His name, perhaps the most prestigious being the Nobel Peace Prize, that He was awarded in 1989. Born n July 6, 1935, to a family of traditional farmers, the Dalai Lama was believed to be a reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama right at birth. As a result, he had a very religious childhood, and was given many of the previous Dalai Lama’s belongings. Dondrub’s reign as the Dalai Lama began on 17 November, 1950, and has been a gratifying journey. The Dalai Lama always fought for the rights of fellow Tibetans, and the people in power did not fancy this behavior much.
As a result, after a long process, the Dalai Lama was sent out of the country, to exile, to India, where Buddhism is quite a big culture. He found many loyal followers among the Indian Buddhist crowd, and felt at home. The Dalai Lama has traveled all across the world, speaking and giving his message of equality and freedom. The Dalai Lama was listed as the second most spiritual person on Earth by the Watkins Review. Many films and novels have been inspired by the Dalai Lama’s life and no wonder: it is a very amazing life indeed.
This is an excerpt from my book “Vagabonds: Sometimes Getting Lost is the Point” . It’s available as an ebook for kindle or ebook readers. Over the next several months we will be exploring some of these amazing vagabond characters from the past (and present).