A Simple Human Being
Imagine a very small boy, born to a large
farming family in the outskirts of modern
civilization. He is happy and playful – running
around with other children and clucking like a
chicken. His parents grow barely, buckwheat
and potatoes and he is the fifth child in a family
of seven.
This simple human being will become His
Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. As the
political and spiritual leader of Tibet, His
Holiness will fulfill a destiny full of
unspeakable burdens and insurmountable
compassion. His wisdom and teachings
will reach the farthest points of the world,
as he becomes an international figure for
peace in modern times.His Holiness was
born as Lhamo Thondup on July 6th, 1935
in northeastern Tibet. He grew up
surrounded with a loving family that
emphasized the importance of honesty and
compassion.
His Holiness was born as Lhamo Thondup
on July 6th, 1935 in northeastern Tibet. He
grew up surrounded with a loving family
that emphasized the importance of honesty
and compassion. His life was ordinary
until the age of three, when monks came to
visit the region in search of the next
reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.
“I am just a simple
human being. This is
nothing special. I
come from a small
village with no
modern education and
no awareness of the
world.”
They came across this region due to a vision
from a senior monk, in which he saw the
village monastery and a house with unique
guttering. Eventually they stumbled across
the house of Lhamo Thondup, with gnarled
branches of juniper wood on the roof. At first
these monks did not reveal their true purpose
and asked to stay the night with the family,
observing the child. A few days later they
returned with a simple yet effective test. The
monks brought a handful of items that
belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama and a few
items that did not. In every instance Lhamo
Thondup correctly identified the belongings of
the Dalai Lama – which included a cane,
prayer beads and a ceremonial drum. At that
moment, Lhamo Thondup unintentionally
began a journey that would last a lifetime.
In 1939, His Holiness was taken to Lhasa, the
capitol of Tibet. In the winter of 1940 Lhamo
Thondup was proclaimed as the 14th Dalai
Lama and renamed Jamphel Ngawang
Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. He lived in
Potala Palace, a grand and magnificent
compound with more than 1,000 bedrooms
and hundreds of precious relics. While this
grandeur would impress many individuals, to
His Holiness it was rather boring. He
continued to be mischievous and playful.
Immediately after his induction as a novice monk,
His Holiness began studying for his doctorate in
Buddhist studies. This curriculum included logic,
Tibet art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine and
Buddhist philosophy. His education continued
further with five categories: the perfection of
wisdom, the philosophy of the Middle way, the
canon of monastic discipline, metaphysics, logic
and epistemology.
“Growing up I had freedom of
talk, freedom of speech,
freedom of movement. When
I turned 15, I lost that
freedom.”
An Unthinkable Sort of Burden
In 1950, a force of 80,000 Chinese troops
crossed into northeastern Tibet. In response to
this threat, at 15 years of age, the Dalai Lama
was officially enthroned as the temporal leader
of Tibet. At an age when many westerners begin
to grow into a sense of self and independence,
His Holiness was responsible for six million
people. On the brink of a full­scale war, the Dalai
Lama sent delegations to the United States and
Great Britain in the hopes of international
support. Unfortunately, Tibet’s destiny would not
be so fortunate. To the western world, Tibet had
no economic value and Tibetan Buddhism was a
strange practice. To China, Tibet was a large,
sparsely populated region strategically centered
in the middle of Asia. The western pillars of
freedom, justice and liberty were only an illusion
in comparison to the might of communist China.
In May of 1951 His Holiness sent a convoy to
Beijing with the hopes of convincing the Chinese
government to halt a full takeover. Instead of
fostering a peaceful resolution, the convoy was
forced into signing an agreement, securing
China’s right to occupy Tibet. Throughout the
next nine years His Holiness walked a thin,
unstable line between the Chinese military and
the growing resentment among the Tibetan
people. In March of 1959 the boiling frustration
of Tibetans exploded with a blatant attempt to
murder His Holiness. The Chinese General
invited the Dalai Lama to attend a theatrical
show on the condition that His Holiness bring no
Tibetan soldiers and his guards bring no
weapons. When word of this invitation spread
throughout Lhasa, tens of thousands of Tibetans
swarmed the streets surrounding the residence
of His Holiness. Consequentially, out of fear for
his life, His Holiness was forced to leave Tibet.
As the beacon of hope and aspiration for Tibet,
an estimated 30,000 people followed him.
Refuge
Upon arrival in India, the Dalai Lama was
granted asylum and set up a government in
exile in the northern city of Dharamsala.
Immediately following his departure from
Tibet, an estimated 87,000 people were
massacred. After the brutal suppression of
the Lhasa uprising, the Chinese military
systematically destroyed anything of religious
and cultural significance. This included art,
books, relics as well as complete annihilation
of over 6,000 monasteries. Pictures of the
Dalai Lama were banned – to speak his name
is a form of treason and defiance against the
rule of China. Tibet’s national anthem and
flag is also banned. Over the next quarter
century, Tibetans experienced a massive
influx of Chinese in search of opportunity in
Tibet. Tibetans are now the minority in their
own country. The cultural genocide of Tibet
has forced over one million refugees to travel
1,200 miles on foot to Dharamsala ­ where
they are granted asylum, food, a place to live,
and a meeting with His Holiness.
Even though His Holiness has been homeless
for half a century, he has claimed a number of
new homes throughout his travels in this vast
world. He believes everything is relative –
one can see the positive side of the worst
situations through a holistic perspective.
We learn the most from our enemies, for they
truly are the best teachers. His Holiness
believes we must be grateful to our enemies
because they challenge us to progress
personally and help up maintain a serene
mind in the hardest of circumstances.
“The life of exile is an
unfortunate life, but I
have always tried to
cultivate a happy state
of mind, appreciating
the opportunities this
existence without a
settled home, far from
all protocol, has offered
me. This way I have
been able to preserve
my inner peace.”
"Rock Star Of Peace"
The literal definition of “Dalai Lama” is
relative to each individual, including His
Holiness. For devout Tibetan Buddhists,
the Dalai Lama is the living manifestation
of Avalokiteshcara, the Buddha of
compassion. For others, the Dalai Lama is
a god­king. To the Chinese, he is a
parasite and counter­revolutionary. To
much of the western world, he is a
celebrity. However His Holiness does not
identify with any of these designations.
“As I see it, the title
‘Dalai Lama’
represents the
responsibility that has
come down to me.”
Since establishing the Tibetan
government in exile, His Holiness has
become one of the most recognized and
beloved people in the world. He is a
friend of politicians, movie stars, diplomats
and ordinary people. He is always present
and finds inspiration in every human he
meets. As a political leader he is honestly
rare. His Holiness is quick to make
decisions but also quick to admit when he
is wrong. He refuses to fly first class and
lives off of ten dollars a day.
One of the many accomplishments of the
Dalai Lama is his emphasis on the
important of non­violence. He views the
use of guns as a sign of weakness and
councils passive, peaceful resistance. He
encourages engagement with China and
does not agree with economic sanctions.
His Holiness does not support Tibet
becoming an independent nation, but
rather supports the Middle Path approach.
Tibet needs China’s monetary resources
to build infrastructure and to bring Tibet
into the global economy. However, Tibet
must maintain autonomy. The Chinese
must stop the cultural genocide of Tibet
and allow it to maintain it’s unique religion,
language and culture.
In 1989, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel
Peace Prize for his efforts in peaceful,
non­violent resistance. He accepted the
prize on behalf of not only Tibet, but on
behalf of the oppressed everywhere.
“I pray for all of us,
oppressor and friend, that
together we succeed in
building a better world
through human
understanding and love,
and in doing so we may
reduce the pain and
suffering of all sentient
beings.”
Universal Responsibility
Over the years His Holiness has become
an avid environmentalist, using
fundamental Buddhist principles such as
compassion and interdependence to
emphasize the importance of our singular
world. The Dalai Lama has become an
example to other world religious leaders;
he calls upon them to lead their respective
followers in a collective effort to protect
our natural resources.
As a Buddhist monk, the Dalai Lama
teaches the principle of interdependence
to not only fellow Buddhists, but to people
of all faiths and nationalities around the
world. This interdependence
acknowledges that humanity is one;
everything is connected in its participation
of life. It is expressed through compassion
on the individual level and through
universal responsibility on the collective
level.
“All major world traditions
have the same type of
potential – to create harmony
and peace of mind.”
The Dalai Lama does not distinguish
Chinese, American, European, African, etc
in the idea of environmental responsibility.
We are a collective humanity and must
address the world we live in as a
collective effort in order to preserve our
natural resources and to show
compassion to all living things. People
create all the problems that face us ­
whether it is war, environmental
degradation or poverty. It is only in
humanity as a whole that we will find a
solution.
“Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn
to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature.
That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on
each other in so many ways, that we can no longer live in
isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside
those communities, and we must share the good fortune that we
enjoy. I speak to you as just another human being; as a simple
monk. If you find what I say useful, then I hope you will try to
practice it.”
Environmental Summit
From May 9­11th Maitripa College and the
World Affairs Council of Oregon is sponsoring
His Holiness for a three­day environmental
summit. This summit will focus on the
importance of the environment and will
include not only the Dalai Lama, but also
distinguished leaders of the Pacific Northwest
environmental, scientific, policy and interfaith
communities. This year, His Holiness will lead
the three days of teachings and conversations
at the University of Portland, University of
Oregon and the Memorial Coliseum.
Distinguished leaders participating in the
events include: science broadcaster and
environmental activist David Suzuki; Oregon
Environmental Council Executive Director,
Andrea Durbin; leading northwest politicians,
Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana, Imam Mohammad
Nejieb, and representatives of Christian and
Native American communities.
Thursday, May 9th
Morning: Interfaith Event, “Spirituality and the
Environment.”
Afternoon: “Universal Responsibility and the
Inner Environment: the Nature of Mind.”
Friday, May 10th
Morning: Maitripa College Symposium with
Scientists and His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
“Life After Life.”
Afternoon: A public lecture at the University of
Oregon, Eugene, “The Path to Peace and
Happiness in the Global Society.”
Saturday, May 11th
Morning: Environmental Summit, “Universal
Responsibility and the Global Environment.”
Afternoon: Public Talk, “Inspiration for the
Global Environment.”
Sunday, May 12th
Green Action Day: a free public event with
speakers, music, & more in Pioneer Square,
downtown Portland.