A fine essay on the 14th Dalai Lama.

Essay by IncineraterHigh School, 12th grade September 2006

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The Dalai Lama

His Holiness, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. Born on July 6, 1935 in the Tibetan province of Amdo, his holiness was recognized at the age of five as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the thirteenth Dalai Lama. His holiness is often referred to as the "Wish-fulfilling Gem," or the "Ocean of Wisdom," in relation to his title, the Dalai Lama. Through his words of wisdom and teachings, the Dalai Lama travels the world to share his views on compassion, Buddhism, and nonviolent solutions.

The Dalai Lama believes compassion is the key to internal and external peace. According to the Dalai Lama, compassion allows people to develop tolerance and forgiveness and health themselves. His holiness also believes that the roots of compassion sprout from when we are infants. What he means by this is that when we are infants, we are all helpless.

Our first contacts and experiences of compassion is when we are cared for by our mothers. The Dalai Lama also states that he has learned more about compassion from his mother than all of his teachers (Lamas) together. Furthermore, the Dalai Lama believes we are all born with compassion; however, it is environment and society which destroys this compassion. In a speech the Dalai Lama made on September 13th, in Burbank, California, his holiness went on to use Hitler and Stalin as examples of people who had their compassion destroyed by society/environment. Both were innocent infants at one point, filled with compassion. Sadly however, society alienated them and caused them to grow into evil figures. One of his most famous quotes regarding compassion was that which he stated, "Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth...