FREE ESSAY ON DALAI LAMA

DALAI LAMA

His Holiness, the XIVth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was born in a small village called
Takster in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at
the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his
predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. His enthronement ceremony took place on February 22,
1940 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the
Bodhisattva of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Dalai Lama means
Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the
Wish-fulfilling Gem, or simply, Kundun, meaning The Presence. Born Lhamo Dhondrub, he
was, as Dalai Lama, renemaed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy
Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom.
He began his education at the age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree
(Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was 25. At 24, he took the preliminary
examination at each of the three monastic universities: Drepung, Sera and Ganden. The
final examination was held in the Jokhang, Lhasa, during the annual Monlam Festival of
Prayer, held in the first month of every year. In the morning he was examined by 30
scholars on logic. In the afternoon, he debated with 15 scholars on the subject of the
Middle Path, and in the evening, 35 scholars tested his knowledge of the canon of
monastic discipline and the study of metaphysics. His Holiness passed the examinations
with honors, conducted before a vast audience of monk scholars. 
In 1950, at age 16, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power as head
of State and Government when Tibet was threatened by the might of China. In 1954 he went
to Peking to talk with Mao Tse-Tung and other Chinese leaders, including Chou En-Lai and
Deng Xiaoping. In 1956, while visiting India to attend the 2500th Buddha Jayanti, he had
a series of meetings with Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Chou about deteriorating
conditions in Tibet. In 1959 he was forced into exile in India after the Chinese military
occupation of Tibet. Since 1960 he has resided in Dharamsala, aptly known as Little
Lhasa, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. 
In the early years of exile, His Holiness appealed to the United Nations on the question
of Tibet, resulting in three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961
and 1965. In 1963, His Holiness promulgated a draft constitution for Tibet, which assures
a democratic form of government. In the last two decades, His Holiness has set up
educational, cultural and religious institutions, which have made major contributions
towards the preservation of the Tibetan identity and its rich heritage. He has given many
teachings and initiations, including the rare Kalachakra Initiation, which he has
conducted more than any of his predecessors. 
His Holiness continues to present new initiatives to resolve the Tibetan issues. At the
Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987 he proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan as a first
step towards resolving the future status of Tibet. This plan calls for the designation of
Tibet as a zone of peace, an end to the massive transfer of ethnic Chinese into Tibet,
restoration of fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms and the abandonment of
China's use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production and the dumping of nuclear waste, as
well as urging earnest negotiations on the future of Tibet and relations between the
Tibetan and Chinese people. In Strasbourg, France, on June 15, 1988, he elaborated on
this Five-Point Peace Plan and proposed the creation of a self-governing democratic
Tibet, in association with the People's Republic of China. In his address, the Dalai Lama
said that this represented the most realistic means by which to re-establish Tibet's
separate identity and restore the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people while
accommodating China's own interests. His Holiness emphasized that whatever the outcome of
the negotiations with the Chinese may be, the Tibetan people themselves must be the
ultimate deciding authority. 
Unlike his predecessors, His Holiness has met and talked with many Westerners and has
visited the United States, Canada, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union,
Mongolia, Greece, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal, Costa Rica,
Mexico, the Vatican, China and Australia. He has met with religious leaders from all
these countries. 
In 1981, His Holiness talked with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, and
with other leaders of the Anglican Church in London. He also met with leaders of the
Roman Catholic and Jewish communities and spoke at an interfaith service in his honor by
the World Congress of Faiths. His talk focused on the commonality of faiths and the need
for unity among different religions. 
Since his first visit to the west in the early 1970s, His Holiness' reputation as a
scholar and man of peace has grown steadily. In recent years, a number of western
universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and honorary Doctorate Degrees
upon His Holiness in recognition of his distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy and
of his distinguished leadership in the service of freedom and peace. 
During his travels abroad, His Holiness has spoken strongly for better understanding and
respect among the different faiths of the world. Towards this end, His Holiness has made
numerous appearances in interfaith services, imparting the message of universal
responsibility, love, compassion and kindness. 
It has been this love and kindness that has had an immense impact so many people's lives
all over the world. People travel thousands of miles each year to see the Dalai Lama. His
teachings are an inspiration to millions. His plans for world peace leave all who hear
them stunned and speechless, fantasizing about how the world would be if he had his way.

* You may notice that this document is not the 2,000 words that you asked for…after
writing about the Dalai's life and teachings, there was simply nothing else to say. A
paper that is too long and wordy is often boring. So, to make it easier for you (and
myself) I have presented you with the abridged version. 
Bibliography
The Four Noble Truths- The Dalai Lama-1997 Harper Collins Publishers
Freedom In Exile the Autobiography of the Dali Lama-1990 Harper Perennial