Transcript The Dalai Lama - daysocialscience

The Dalai Lama
The First Dalai Lama
• Gedun Drupa, was born in
1391 in central Tibet
• His parents were Gonpo
Dorjee and Jomo Namkha Kyi
• His given name was Pema
Dorjee
• He founded theTashi Lhunpo
monastery
• Wrote more than 8 books
• Spread Buddhism throughout
Tibet
Other Significant Dalai Lamas
• 3rd Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso was the first to
be called the Dalai Lama by the Mongolian
King
• 5th Dalai Lama became the spiritual and
political ruler of Tibet in 1642
• 13th Dalai Lama fled to India when China
invaded Tibet in 1910 but returned in 1911
Origins of the 14th Dalai Lama
• Upon the death of the
13th Dalai Lama in 1933,
visions and signs pointed
to where the next Lama
might be found. In the
small village of Kumbum,
a search party discovered
young Lhamo Thondup
(the future Tenzin
Gyatso, above), who
displayed familiarity with
objects belonging to his
predecessor.
• Lhamo Thondup was
declared the new Dalai
Lama in 1939. He was
taken to Lhasa, the
capital of Tibet, in 1940,
where his name was
changed to Jamphel
Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe
Tenzin Gyatso and he
began his spiritual
education.
At about age 10.
• In this photograph, the
young Tenzin Gyatso
poses with his mother.
The Dalai Lama's
parents had 16 children,
9 of whom survived. His
brother Thupten Jigme
Norbu is also
recognized as the High
Lama Taktser Rinpoche.
• During the 1950s, the
new Communist
government of China
gradually took control of
Tibet. Their refusal to
respect the sanctity and
authority of the Dalai
Lama led to a resistance
which was crushed by the
Chinese army, forcing
Tenzin Gyatso and his
followers to flee across
the Himalayas, where this
photo was taken, to India.
• By 1959, the Chinese assumed complete authority
over Tibet. In this photograph, Chinese soldiers
block the border with India, part of a failed effort
to stop the Dalai Lama's escape.
The Dalai Lama's spiritual home is the Potala
Palace. He has not lived there since 1959.
Since his exile to India, Tenzin Gyatso has labored to draw
attention to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and bring the
message of Tibetan Buddhism to the rest of the world.
Many celebrities, Richard Gere most notable
among them, have taken up his cause.
At a 1986 prayer for peace organized by the Vatican in Assisi,
the Dalai Lama joins from left: The Archbishop of Canterbury
Robert Runcie, Orthodox Archbishop Methodius and Pope
John Paul II.
Presently the Dalai Lama resides in Dharamsala, India. In this
photograph, he meditates in the offices of the government in
exile.
Every year, thousands travel to India to pay their respects to
His Holiness. At the core of the Dalai Lama's political message
is the belief that global peace cannot begin until each person
has attained inner peace.
3 Commitments
• Promotion of individual compassion,
forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and selfdiscipline
• Promotion of religious harmony and
understanding among the world’s major
religious traditions
• Preservation of Tibet's Buddhist culture, a
culture of peace and non-violence
Monlam Teachings
• 16th day of the first
month of the Tibetan
calendar (March 17 this
year)
• Annual spring teachings
at Main Temple in
Dharamsala
• Lasts 15 days
In 2010 The Dalai Lama and Obama discussed human
rights and the promotion of religious harmony.
• According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, the
President "stated his strong support for the preservation of
Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the
protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People's
Republic of China." China strenuously objected to the meeting.
Travels
• The Dalai Lama travels
throughout the world
promoting his Three
Commitments
• This year he has
travelled extensively
throughout India, Japan
and USA
• He visited Canada in
2007 and 2012
A Few of the Books by the Dalai Lama