Spiritwalk Teachers: The Dalai Lama

the capital of Tibet.

Education in Tibet

He began his education at the age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa
Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was 25 in 1959. At 24,
he took the preliminary examinations at each of the three monastic
universities: Drepung, Sera and Ganden. The final examination was
conducted in the Jokhang, Lhasa during the annual Monlam Festival of
Prayer, held in the first month of every year Tibetan calendar.

Leadership Responsibilities

On November 17, 1950, His Holiness was called upon to assume full
political power (head of the State and Government) after some 80,000
Peoples Liberation Army soldiers invaded Tibet. In 1954, he went to Beijing
to talk peace 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 Anniversary, he had a series of meetings with Prime Minister
Nehru and Premier Chou about deteriorating conditions in Tibet.

His efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to Sino-Tibetan conflict were
thwarted by Bejing's ruthless policy in Eastern Tibet, which ignited a popular
uprising and resistance. This resistance movement spread to other parts of
the country. On 10 March 1959 the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, exploded with
the largest demonstration in Tibetan history, calling on China to leave Tibet
and reaffirming Tibet's independence. The Tibetan National Uprising was
brutally crushed by the Chinese army. His Holiness escaped to India where
he was given political asylum. Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed His
Holiness into exile. Today, there are more than 120,000 Tibetan in exile.
Since 1960, he has resided in Dharamsala, India, 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, calling on China to respect the human
rights of Tibetans and their desire for self-determination. With the newly
constituted Tibetan Government-in-exile, His Holiness saw that his immediate
and urgent task was to save the both the Tibetan exiles and their culture
alike. Tibetan refugees were rehabilitated in agricultural settlements.
Economic development was promoted [???]and the creation of a Tibetan
educational system was established to raise refugee children with full
knowledge of their language, history, religion and culture. The Tibetan
Institute of Performing Arts was established in 1959, while the Central
Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies became a university for Tibetans in India.
Over 200 monasteries have been re-established to preserve the vast corpus
of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, the essence of the Tibetan way of life.

In 1963, His Holiness promulgated a democratic constitution, based on
Buddhist principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a
model for a future free Tibet. Today, members of the Tibetan parliament are
elected directly by the people. The members of the Tibetan Cabinet are
elected by the parliament, making the Cabinet answerable to the Parliament.
His Holiness has continuously emphasized the need to further democratise
the Tibetan administration and has publicly declared that once Tibet regains
her independence he will not hold political office.

In Washington, D.C., at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987,
he proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan as a first step toward 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.

In Strasbourg, France, on 15 June 1988, he elaborated the Five-Point Peace
Plan and proposed the creation of a self-governing democratic Tibet, "in
association with the People's Republic of China."

On 2 September 1991, the Tibetan Government-in-exile declared the
Strasbourg Proposal invalid because of the closed and negative attitude of
the present Chinese leadership towards the ideas expressed in the proposal.
[omitted phrase]

On 9 October 1991, during an address at Yale University in the United
States, His Holiness said that he wanted to visit Tibet to personally assess the
political situation. He said, "I am extremely anxious that, in this explosive
situation, violence may break out. I want to do what I can to prevent this....
My visit would be a new opportunity to promote understanding and create a
basis for a negotiated solution."

Contact with West and East

Since 1967, His Holiness initiated a series of journeys which have taken him
to some 46 nations. In autumn of 1991, he visited the Baltic States at the
invitation of Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania and
became the first foreign leader to address the Lithuanian Parliament. His
Holiness met with the late Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973. At a press
conference in Rome in 1980, he outlined his hopes for the meeting with John
Paul II: "We live in a period of great crisis, a period of troubling world
developments. It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and
harmony between peoples. For this reason, I look forward with faith and
hope to my meeting with the Holy Father; to an exchange of ideas and
feelings, and to his suggestions, so as to open the door to a progressive
pacification between peoples." His Holiness met Pope John Paul II at the
Vatican in 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990. In 1981, His Holiness talked
with 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 held in his
honor by the World Congress of Faiths: "I always believe that it is much
better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one
single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental
dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas or
techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."

Recognition and Awards

Since his first visit to the west in the early 1973, a number of western
universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and honorary
Doctorate Degrees in recognition of His Holiness' distinguished writings in
Buddhist philosophy and for his leadership in the solution of international
conflicts, human rights issues and global environmental problems. In
presenting the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional Human Rights Award in
1989, U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos said, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama's
courageous struggle has distinguished him as a leading proponent of human
rights and world peace. His ongoing efforts to end the suffering of the Tibetan
people through peaceful negotiations and reconciliation have required
enormous courage and sacrifice."

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award the 1989 Peace Prize
to His Holiness the Dalai Lama won worldwide praise and applause, with
exception of China. The Committeešs citation read, "The Committee wants
to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama in his struggle for the liberation of
Tibet consistently has opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated
peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to
preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people."

On 10 December 1989, His Holiness accepted the prize on the behalf of
oppressed everywhere and all those who struggle for freedom and work for
world peace and the people of Tibet. In his remarks he said, "The prize
reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our
weapons, Tibet will be liberated. Our struggle must remain nonviolent and
free of hatred."

He also had a message of encouragement for the student-led democracy
movement in China. "In China the popular movement for democracy was
crushed by brutal force in June this year. But I do not believe the
demonstrations were in vain, because the spirit of freedom was rekindled
among the Chinese people and China cannot escape the impact of this spirit
of freedom sweeping in many parts of the world. The brave students and
their supporters showed the Chinese leadership and the world the human
face of that great nations."

A Simple Buddhist monk

His Holiness often says, "I am just a simple Buddhist monk - no more, no less."

His Holiness follows the life of Buddhist monk. Living in a small cottage in
Dharamsala, he rises at 4 A.M. to mediate, pursues an ongoing schedule of
administrative meetings, private audiences and religious teachings and
ceremonies. He concludes each day with further prayer before retiring. In
explaining his greatest sources of inspiration, he often cites a favorite verse,
found in the writings of the renowned eighth century Buddhist saint
Shantideva: