His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. He has struggled to bring the world's attention to the plight of the Tibetan people under the occupation and tyranny of Communist China. His renowned work has included trips to many foreign countries and he is recognized as a charismatic figure and noted public figure. Tenzin Gyatso is the first Dalai Lama ever to travel to the West, where he has helped to spread Buddhism and to publicize the cause of Free Tibet.
His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are considered the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who choose to reincarnate to serve the people as their spiritual leader. When the Dalai Lama was about three years old, a search party was sent out to find the new incarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The 14th Dalai Lama as a young boy.
Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth and current Dalai La...
English: Carey asked me to replace the photo I had...The thirteenth Dalai Lama had turned to face the northeast direction while he was dying, indicating the area where the next Dalai Lama should be found. Shortly afterwards, a senior lama had a vision of a house with strangely shaped guttering. After extensive searching, they found a house similar to the one in the vision. They presented the boy they discovered, Lhamo Thondup, with various religous relics and toys of the previous Dalai Lama. It is claimed that he recognized them by saying, "It's mine, it's mine!" (Lama 75) The Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-fulfilling Gem, or simply, Kundun, meaning The Presence. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom and that is how he is revered by the Tibetan people.
As well as being the most influential spiritual leader of Tibetan...