Events[link]

12 BC – The Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the Emperor

1454 – Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland who agrees to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation's struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.

1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam.

1788 – The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.

1820 – The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.

1834 – York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto.

1836 – Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo – After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.

1840 – The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery opens, the first dental school.

1857 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case.

1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.

1882 – The Serbian kingdom is refounded.

1899 – Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark.

1912 – the Oreo cookie is introduced by Nabisco

1921 – Portuguese Communist Party is founded as the Portuguese Section of the Communist International.

1930 – International Unemployment Day demonstrations globally initiated by the Comintern

1945 – World War II: Cologne is captured by American Troops.

1946 – Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.

1951 – The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.

1953 – Georgy Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1957 – Ghana becomes the first Sub-Saharan country to gain Independence from the British

1962 – Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 begins on the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States.

1964 – Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.

1964 – Constantine II becomes King of Greece.

1965 – Premier Tom Playford of South Australia loses power after 27 years in office.

1967 – Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States.

1968 – The first of the East L.A. Walkouts take place at several high schools.

1968 – Three black males are executed by Rhodesia, the first executions since UDI, prompting international condemnation.

1970 – Blast at Weather Underground safe house in Greenwich Village kills three.

1975 – For the first time, ever, the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion to a national TV audience by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory.

1975 – Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.

1981 – After 19 years of presenting the ''CBS Evening News'', Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.

1983 – The first United States Football League game is played.

1987 – The British ferry capsizes in about 90 seconds killing 193.

1988 – Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are killed by Special Air Service on the territory of Gibraltar in the conclusion of Operation Flavius.

1992 – Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.

2008 – A Palestinian gunman shoots and kills 8 students and critically injures 11 in the library of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, in Jerusalem, Israel.

Births[link]

1340 – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (d. 1399)

1405 – King John II of Castile (d. 1454)

1459 – Jakob Fugger, German banker (d. 1525)

1475 – Michelangelo, Italian artist and sculptor (d. 1564)

1483 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian statesman and historian (d. 1540)

1495 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (d. 1556)

1619 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French soldier, poet (d. 1655)

1663 – Francis Atterbury, British man of letters (d. 1732)

1706 – George Pocock, British admiral (d. 1792)

1716 – Pehr Kalm, Swedish explorer and naturalist (d. 1779)

1724 – Henry Laurens, American merchant, slave trader, and political leader (d. 1792)

1761 – Antoine-Francois Andreossy, French General (d. 1828)

1779 – Antoine-Henri Jomini, French general (d. 1869)

1785 – Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer (d. 1857)

1787 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist (d. 1826)

1806 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, British poet (d. 1861)

1812 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison American watch manufacturer (d. 1895)

1817 – Princess Clémentine of Orléans (d. 1907)

1818 – William Claflin, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)

1823 – Charles I of Württemberg, King of Württemberg from 1864 (d. 1891)

1831 – Philip Sheridan, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1888)

1834 – George du Maurier British illustrator and writer (d. 1896)

1849 – Georg Luger, Austrian inventor (d. 1923)

1870 – Oscar Straus, Viennese operetta composer (d. 1954)

1871 – Afonso Costa, Portuguese politician (d. 1937)

1872 – Ben Harney, American composer and ragtime pianist (d. 1938)

1882 – Guy Kibbee, American actor (d. 1956)

1884 – Molla Mallory, Norwegian-born American tennis player (d. 1959)

1885 – Ring Lardner, American writer (d. 1933)

1893 – Furry Lewis, American blues guitarist (d. 1981)

1895 – Albert Tessier, French Canadian priest and film maker (d. 1976)

1900 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (d. 1975)

1900 – Henri Jeanson, French writer and journalist (d. 1970)

1903 – Empress Kōjun of Japan (d. 2000)

1904 – José Antonio Aguirre, Basque politician (d. 1960)

1905 – Bob Wills, American singer (d. 1975)

1906 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (d. 1959)

1909 – Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian politician (d. 1987)

1909 – Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Polish author (d. 1966)

1910 – Ejler Bille, Danish artist, member of the COBRA group (d. 2004)

1914 – Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (d. 1981)

1915 – Mohammed Burhanuddin, Dawoodi Bohra spiritual leader

1917 – Donald Davidson, American philosopher (d. 2003)

1917 – Will Eisner, American illustrator and cartoonist (d. 2005)

1917 – Frankie Howerd, English comedian (d. 1992)

1918 – Leslie Charles Smith, English businessman (d. 2005)

1920 – Olive Dickason, Canadian historian (d. 2011)

1920 – Lewis Gilbert, English film director, producer and screenwriter

1921 – Julius Rudel, American orchestra conductor

1923 – Herman Leonard, American photographer (d. 2010)

1923 – Ed McMahon, American television personality (d. 2009)

1923 – Wes Montgomery, American jazz musician (d. 1968)

1924 – William H. Webster, American lawyer, former FBI and CIA director

1926 – Alan Greenspan, American economist, former Federal Reserve chairman

1926 – Andrzej Wajda, Polish film director

1927 – William J. Bell, creator and executive producer of soap operas (d. 2005)

1927 – Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (d. 2004)

1927 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian writer, Nobel Prize laureate

1927 – Norman Treigle, American bass-baritone (d. 1975)

1930 – Lorin Maazel, French-born American conductor

1931 – Hal Needham, American stuntman

1932 – Marc Bazin, Haitian politician (d. 2010)

1932 – Bronisław Geremek, Polish social historian and politician.

1933 – Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (d. 2004)

1934 – John Noakes, British television presenter

1934 – Keith Spicer, Canadian academic, public servant, journalist and writer

1935 – Ron Delany, Irish athlete

1936 – Marion Barry Jr., American politician

1936 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer, musician and record producer (Mickey & Sylvia) (d. 2011)

1936 – Choummaly Sayasone, president of Laos

1937 – Ivan Boesky, American stock trader

1937 – Valentina Tereshkova, Soviet cosmonaut

1939 – Christopher "Kit" Bond, American politician, former United States Senator

1939 – Infanta Margarita of Spain, duchess of Soria

1939 – Adam Osborne, British author and computer designer (d. 2003)

1939 – Cookie Rojas, Cuban baseball player

1940 – Ken Danby, Canadian realist painter (d. 2007)

1940 – Joanna Miles, American actress

1940 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player (d. 2001)

1941 – Peter Brötzmann, German jazz saxophonist

1942 – Ben Murphy, American actor

1942 – Flora Purim, Brazilian jazz singer (Return to Forever)

1944 – Richard Corliss, American film critic

1944 – Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealander opera singer

1944 – Mary Wilson, American singer (The Supremes)

1945 – Hugh Grundy, British drummer (The Zombies)

1946 – David Gilmour, British musician (Pink Floyd, Joker's Wild and Deep End)

1946 – Martin Kove, American actor

1947 – Kiki Dee, British singer

1947 – Dick Fosbury, American athlete

1947 – Anna Maria Horsford, American actress

1947 – Rob Reiner, American actor, comedian, and film producer

1947 – John Stossel, American author and pundit

1948 – Stephen Schwartz, American musical theatre lyricist and composer

1949 – Shaukat Aziz, Pakistani statesman

1949 – Martin Buchan, Scottish soccer player

1950 – Hirotaka Suzuoki, Japanese Seiyu (d. 2006)

1951 – Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)

1953 – Phil Alvin, American singer and guitarist (The Blasters)

1953 – Jan Kjærstad, Norwegian author

1953 – Madhav Kumar Nepal, former Prime Minister of Nepal

1953 – Carolyn Porco, American planetary scientist

1954 – Jeff Greenwald, American travel author, photographer, and monologist

1954 – Harald Schumacher, German footbal goalkeeper

1955 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress

1957 – Yves Bolduc, Canadian doctor and politician

1958 – Eddie Deezen, American actor

1959 – Tom Arnold, American actor and comedian

1960 – Sleepy Floyd, American basketball player

1962 – Erika Hess, Swiss alpine ski racer

1963 – Suzanne Crough, American actress

1963 – D. L. Hughley, American comedian and actor

1964 – Paul Bostaph, American drummer (Forbidden, Slayer and Systematic)

1964 – Skip Ewing, American country music singer and songwriter

1964 – Madonna Wayne Gacy (Stephen Gregory Bier Jr.), American musician

1964 – Yvette Wilson, American comedian and actress

1966 – Alan Davies, British comedian and actor

1967 – Julio Bocca, Argentine ballet dancer

1967 – Connie Britton, American actress

1967 – Shuler Hensley, American singer and actor

1968 – Moira Kelly, American actress

1968 – Michael Romeo, American musician (Symphony X)

1969 – Andrea Elson, American actress

1969 – Tari Phillips, American basketball player

1969 – Amy Pietz, American actress

1970 – Chris Broderick, American musician (Megadeth and Jag Panzer)

1971 – Darrick Martin, American basketball player

1971 – Sean Morley, American professional wrestler

1972 – Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player

1972 – Jaret Reddick, American musician (Bowling For Soup and People on Vacation)

1973 – Michael Finley, American basketball player

1973 – Peter Lindgren, Swedish guitarist (Opeth)

1973 – Greg Ostertag, American basketball player

1973 – Trent Willmon, American country music artist

1974 – Beanie Sigel (Dwight Grant), American rapper

1974 – Guy Garvey, British musician (Elbow)

1975 – Aracely Arambula, Mexican actress and singer

1975 – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, French Canadian conductor

1976 – Ken Anderson, American professional wrestler

1977 – Giorgos Karagounis, Greek soccer player

1977 – Bubba Sparxxx (Warren Anderson Mathis), American rapper

1977 – Marcus Thames, American baseball player

1978 – Lara Cox, Australian actress

1978 – Sage Rosenfels, American football player

1979 – Clint Barmes, American baseball player

1979 – Érik Bédard, Canadian baseball player

1979 – David Flair, American professional wrestler

1979 – Rufus Hound, British comedian

1979 – Tim Howard, American soccer player

1980 – Daniel DeSanto, Canadian actor

1981 – Ellen Muth, American actress

1983 – Andranik Teymourian, Iranian soccer player

1984 – Becky, Japanese-British entertainer

1984 – Chris Tomson, American musician (Vampire Weekend)

1984 – Edmund Yeo, Malaysian filmmaker

1986 – Jake Arrieta, American baseball pitcher

1986 – Charlie Mulgrew, Scottish football player

1986 – Eli Marienthal, American actor

1986 – Francisco Cervelli, Italian baseball player

1987 – Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghanaian/German footballer

1987 – Hannah Taylor-Gordon, English actress

1988 – Agnes Carlsson, Swedish singer

1989 – Agnieszka Radwańska, Polish tennis player

1990 – Linn Haug, Norwegian snowboarder

1991 – Nicole Fox, American model

1991 – Lex Luger (Lexus Arnel Lewis), American rap producer

1991 – Tyler the Creator (Tyler Okonma), American rapper (OFWGKTA)

1992 – Momoko Tsugunaga, Japanese actress and singer (Berryz Kobo, ZYX and Buono!)

1996 – Savannah Stehlin, American actress

2001 – Aryana Engineer, Canadian actress

Deaths[link]

766 – Chrodegang of Metz, Frankish bishop of Metz

1252 – Saint Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint (b. 1235)

1490 – Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (b. 1458)

1531 – Pedrarias Dávila, Spanish conquistador (b. c. 1440)

1627 – Krzysztof Zbaraski, Polish statesman (b. 1580)

1658 – Ivan Bunić Vučić, politician and poet from the Republic of Dubrovnik (b. 1591 or 1592)

1754 – Henry Pelham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1694)

1758 – Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, English politician (b. 1705)

1764 – Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1690)

1796 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (b. 1713)

1836 – Notable figures at the Battle of the Alamo:

*James Butler Bonham, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1807)

*James "Jim" Bowie, American pioneer and soldier (b. 1796)

*Davy Crockett, American frontiersman (b. 1786)

*William Barret Travis, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1809)

1842 – Constanze Mozart, former widow of W.A. Mozart (b. 1763)

1854 – Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, British soldier and politician (b. 1778)

1860 – Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (b. 1783)

1866 – William Whewell, English scientist, philosopher and historian (b. 1794)

1867 – Artemus Ward, American comic writer (b. 1834)

1881 – Horatia Nelson, daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (b. 1801)

1888 – Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (b. 1832)

1895 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian writer and feminist (b. 1813)

1899 – Victoria Kaiulani, Hawaiian princess (b. 1875)

1900 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and industrialist (b. 1834)

1905 – John Henninger Reagan, American Confederate politician (b. 1818)

1932 – John Philip Sousa, American conductor, and composer (b. 1854)

1933 – Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1873)

1935 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American politician (b. 1841)

1935 – Fridolf Rhudin Swedish actor and comedian (b. 1895)

1939 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (b. 1852)

1941 – Gutzon Borglum, Danish sculptor (b. 1867)

1948 – Ross Lockridge, Jr., American novelist (b. 1914)

1950 – Albert Lebrun, President of France (b. 1871)

1951 – Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, musician, and composer (b. 1893)

1951 – Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian politician and statesman (b. 1880)

1952 – Jürgen Stroop, Nazi SS-leader (b. 1895)

1961 – George Formby, British comedian and singer (b. 1904)

1964 – King Paul of Greece (b. 1901)

1965 – Margaret Dumont, American actress (b. 1889)

1967 – John Haden Badley, English author and educator (b. 1865)

1967 – Nelson Eddy, American singer and actor (b. 1901)

1967 – Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer (b. 1882)

1969 – Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (b. 1952)

1970 – William Hopper, American actor (b. 1915)

1971 – Thurston Dart, English harpsichordist and conductor (b. 1921)

1973 – Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)

1974 – Ernest Becker, American anthropologist, Pulitzer Prize author of Denial of Death (b. 1924)

1976 – Mary Petty, American illustrator (b. 1899)

1976 – Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom, American boxer and actor (b. 1903)

1978 – Dennis Viollet, English footballer (b. 1933)

1981 – George Geary, English cricketer (b. 1893)

1982 – Ayn Rand, Russian-American author (b. 1905)

1984 – Martin Niemöller, German theologian (b. 1892)

1984 – Henry Wilcoxon, Dominican actor (b. 1905)

1986 – Georgia O'Keeffe, American artist (b. 1887)

1988 – Mairéad Farrell, Irish Republican (b. 1957)

1988 – Daniel McCann, Irish Republican (b. 1957)

1988 – Seán Savage, Irish Republican (b. 1965)

1994 – Melina Mercouri, Greek actress and Minister for Culture of Greece (b. 1920)

1997 – Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (b. 1918)

1997 – Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1924)

1998 – Frank Barrett, American baseball player (b. 1913)

1999 – Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, Emir of Bahrain (b. 1933)

2000 – John Colicos, Canadian actor (b. 1928)

2001 – Kim Walker, American actress (b. 1968)

2001 – Balla Moussa Keïta, Malian actor and comedian (b. 1934)

2002 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1969)

2004 – Frances Dee, American actress (b. 1909)

2004 – Ray Fernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)

2005 – Hans Bethe, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)

2005 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player (b. 1920)

2005 – Tommy Vance, British radio disc jockey (b. 1943)

2005 – Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918)

2006 – Anne Braden, American civil rights activist (b. 1924)

2006 – King Floyd, American singer, songwriter (b. 1945)

2006 – Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (b. 1960)

2006 – Dana Reeve, American actress and activist, widow of Christopher Reeve (b. 1961)

2007 – Jean Baudrillard, French theorist and photographer (b. 1929)

2007 – Allen Coage ("Bad News Brown"), American wrestler and judoka (b. 1943)

2007 – Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (b. 1909)

2007 – Pierre Moinot, French novelist (b. 1920)

2008 – Peter Poreku Dery, Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Tamale (b. 1918)

2009 – Francis Magalona, Filipino media artist and photographer. (b. 1964)

2009 – Susan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean stateswoman, wife of Morgan Tsvangirai (b. 1959)

2010 – Endurance Idahor, Nigerian footballer (b. 1984)

2010 – Mark Linkous, American singer (Sparklehorse) (b. 1962)

2010 – Betty Millard, American writer, artist, political activist, philanthropist and feminist (b.1911)

Holidays and observances[link]

Christian Feast Day:

*Chrodegang

*Colette

*Fridolin

*Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba

*Marcian of Tortona

*Olegarius

*March 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Foundation Day, the founding of Norfolk Island in 1788. (Territory of Norfolk Island)

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Ghana from the United Kingdom in 1957. (Ghana)

External links[link]

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:March

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Name	Tenzin
Title	His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Reign
Predecessor	Thubten Gyatso
Reg-type
Regent
Tibetan
Wylie	bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho
Pronoun
Transprc	Dainzin Gyaco
Thdl	Tenzin Gyatso
Chinese
Pinyin	Dānzēng Jiācuò
Father	Choekyong Tsering
Mother	Diki Tsering
Birth date	July 06, 1935
Birth place	Taktser, China
Signature	DalaiLama autograph.jpg }}

The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935) is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at the age of 15. He inherited control over a government controlling an area roughly corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a joint Chinese-Tibetan administration.

During the 1959 Tibetan uprising, which China regards as an uprising of feudal landlords, the Dalai Lama, who regards the uprising as an expression of widespread discontent, fled to India, where he denounced the People's Republic and established a Tibetan government in exile. A charismatic speaker, he has since traveled the world, advocating for the welfare of Tibetans, teaching Tibetan Buddhism and talking about the importance of compassion as the source of a happy life. Around the world, institutions face pressure from China not to accept him. He has spoken about such topics as abortion, economics, firearms, and sexuality, and has been the subject of controversy for his alleged treatment of Dorje Shugden followers and his office's receipt of support from the CIA in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Early life and background[link]

Lhamo Döndrub (or ''Thondup'') was born on 6 July 1935 to a farming and horse trading family in the small hamlet of Taktser, in the eastern border of the former Tibetan region of Amdo, then already assimilated into the Chinese province of Qinghai. He was one of seven siblings to survive childhood. The eldest was his sister Tsering Dolma, eighteen years older. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, had been recognised at the age of eight as the reincarnation of the high Lama Taktser Rinpoche. His sister, Jetsun Pema, spent most of her adult life on the Tibetan Children's Villages project. The Dalai Lama's first language was, in his own words, "a broken Xining language which was (a dialect of) the Chinese language" as his family did not speak the Tibetan language.

Tibetans traditionally believe Dalai Lamas to be the reincarnation of their predecessors, each of whom is believed to be a human emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. A search party was sent to locate the new incarnation when the boy who was to become the 14th was about two years old. It is said that, amongst other omens, the head of the embalmed body of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, at first facing south-east, had mysteriously turned to face the northeast—indicating the direction in which his successor would be found. The Regent, Reting Rinpoche, shortly afterwards had a vision at the sacred lake of Lhamo La-tso indicating Amdo as the region to search—specifically a one-story house with distinctive guttering and tiling. After extensive searching, the Thondup house, with its features resembling those in Reting's vision, was finally found.

Thondup was presented with various relics, including toys, some of which had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama and some of which had not. It was reported that he had correctly identified all the items owned by the previous Dalai Lama, exclaiming, "That's mine! That's mine!"

The Chinese Muslim General Ma Bufang did not want the 14th Dalai Lama to succeed his predecessor. Ma Bufang stationed his men to place the Dalai Lama under effective house arrest, saying it was needed for "protection", refusing to permit his leaving to Tibet. He did all he could to delay the transport of the Dalai Lama from Qinghai to Tibet, by demanding massive sums of money in silver. The demanded payment by Ma Bufang was 100,000 Chinese silver dollars.

Lhamo Thondup was recognised formally as the reincarnated Dalai Lama and renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (''Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom'') although he was not formally enthroned as the temporal ruler of Tibet until the age of 15; instead, the regent acted as the head of the Kashag until that time. Tibetan Buddhists normally refer to him as Yishin Norbu (''Wish-Fulfilling Gem''), Kyabgon (''Saviour''), or just Kundun (''Presence''). His devotees often call him ''His Holiness the Dalai Lama'', the style employed on the Dalai Lama's website.

Monastic education commenced at the age of six years, his principal teachers being Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche (senior tutor) and Yongdzin Trijang Rinpoche (junior tutor). At the age of 11 he met the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, who became his videographer and tutor about the world outside Lhasa. Harrer effectively became one of the young Dalai Lama's tutors, teaching him about the outside world. The two remained friends until Harrer's death in 2006.

During 1959, at the age of 23, he took his final examination at Lhasa's Jokhang Temple during the annual Monlam or ''prayer'' Festival. He passed with honours and was awarded the Lharampa degree, the highest-level ''geshe'' degree, roughly equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy.

Life as the Dalai Lama[link]

Historically the Dalai Lamas had political and religious influence in the Western Tibetan area of Ü-Tsang around Lhasa, where the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism was popular and the Dalai Lamas held land under their jurisdiction. In 1939, at the age of four, the present Dalai Lama was taken in a procession of lamas to Lhasa.

The Dalai Lama's childhood was spent between the Potala Palace and Norbulingka, his summer residence, both of which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

China asserts that the Kuomintang government ratified the 14th Dalai Lama and that a Kuomintang representative, General Wu Zhongxin, presided over the ceremony. It cites a ratification order dated February 1940, and a documentary film of the ceremony. According to Tsering Shakya, Wu Zhongxin along with other foreign representatives was present at the ceremony, but there is no evidence that he presided over it. He also wrote:

''"On 8 July 1949, the Kashag [Tibetan Parliament] called Chen Xizhang, the acting director of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission office in Lhasa. He was informed that the Tibetan Government had decided to expel all Chinese connected with the Guomingdang Government. Fearing that the Chinese might organize protests in the streets of Lhasa, the Kashag imposed a curfew until all the Chinese had left. This they did on 14, 17 and 20 July 1949. At the same time the Tibetan Government sent a telegram to General Chiang Kai-shek and to President Liu Zongren informing them of the decision."''

During his reign, a border crisis erupted with the Republic of China in 1942. Under orders from the Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek, Ma Bufang repaired Yushu airport to prevent Tibetan separatists from seeking independence. Chiang also ordered Ma Bufang to put his Muslim soldiers on alert for an invasion of Tibet in 1942. Ma Bufang complied, and moved several thousand troops to the border with Tibet. Chiang also threatened the Tibetans with aerial bombardment if they worked with the Japanese. Ma Bufang attacked the Tibetan Buddhist Tsang monastery in 1941. He also constantly attacked the Labrang monastery.

In October 1950 the army of the People's Republic of China marched to the edge of the Dalai Lama's territory and sent a delegation after defeating a legion of the Tibetan army in warlord-controlled Kham. On 17 November 1950, at the age of 15, the 14th Dalai Lama was enthroned formally as the temporal ruler of Tibet.

Cooperation and conflicts with the PRC[link]

The Dalai Lama's formal rule was brief. He sent a delegation to Beijing, which ratified the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. He worked with the Chinese government: in September 1954, together with the 10th Panchen Lama he went to the Chinese capital to meet Mao Zedong and attend the first session of the National People's Congress as a delegate, primarily discussing China's constitution. On 27 September 1954, the Dalai Lama was selected as a deputy chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a post he officially held until 1964.

In 1956, on a trip to India to celebrate the Buddha's Birthday, the Dalai Lama asked the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, if he would allow him political asylum should he choose to stay. Nehru discouraged this as a provocation against peace, and reminded him of the Indian Government's non-interventionist stance agreed upon with its 1954 treaty with China. The CIA, with the Korean War only recently over, offered the Dalai Lama assistance. In 1956, a large rebellion broke out in eastern Kham, an ethnically Tibetan region in Sichuan province. To support the rebels, the CIA launched a covert action campaign against the Communist Chinese. A secret military training camp for the Khampa guerrillas was established in at Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado, in the U.S. The guerrillas attacked Communist forces in Amdo and Kham but were gradually pushed into Central Tibet.

Exile to India[link]

At the outset of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, fearing for his life, the Dalai Lama and his retinue fled Tibet with the help of the CIA's Special Activities Division, crossing into India on 30 March 1959, reaching Tezpur in Assam on 18 April. Some time later he set up the Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamshala, India, which is often referred to as "''Little Lhasa''". After the founding of the exiled government he re-established the approximately 80,000 Tibetan refugees who followed him into exile in agricultural settlements. He created a Tibetan educational system in order to teach the Tibetan children the language, history, religion, and culture. The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts was established in 1959 and the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies became the primary university for Tibetans in India. He supported the refounding of 200 monasteries and nunneries in an attempt to preserve Tibetan Buddhist teachings and the Tibetan way of life.

The Dalai Lama appealed to the United Nations on the rights of Tibetans. This appeal resulted in three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961, and 1965, all before the People's Republic was allowed representation at the United Nations. The resolutions called on China to respect the human rights of Tibetans. During 1963, he promulgated a democratic constitution which is based upon the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, creating an elected parliament and an administration to champion his cause. During 1970, he opened the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala which houses over 80,000 manuscripts and important knowledge resources related to Tibetan history, politics and culture. It is considered one of the most important institutions for Tibetology in the world.

International advocacy[link]

At the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987 in Washington, D.C., the Dalai Lama gave a speech outlining his ideas for the future status of Tibet. The plan called for Tibet to become a democratic "zone of peace" without nuclear weapons, and with support for human rights, that barred the entry of Han Chinese. The plan would later be called the "Strasbourg proposal", because he expanded on the plan at Strasbourg on 15 June 1988. There, he proposed the creation of a self-governing Tibet "in association with the People's Republic of China." This would have been pursued by negotiations with the PRC government, but the plan was rejected by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile during 1991. The Dalai Lama has indicated that he wishes to return to Tibet only if the People's Republic of China agrees not to make any precondition for his return. In the 1970s, the then-Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping set China's sole return requirement to the Dalai Lama as that he "must [come back] as a Chinese citizen.... that is, patriotism".

The Dalai Lama celebrated his seventieth birthday on 6 July 2005. About 10,000 Tibetan refugees, monks and foreign tourists gathered outside his home. Patriarch Alexius II of the Russian Orthodox Church affirmed positive relations with Buddhists. Then President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Chen Shui-bian, attended an evening celebrating the Dalai Lama's birthday at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. In October 2008 in Japan, the Dalai Lama addressed the 2008 Tibetan violence that had erupted and that the Chinese government accused him of fomenting. He responded that he had "lost faith" in efforts to negotiate with the Chinese government, and that it was "up to the Tibetan people" to decide what to do.

Teaching activities[link]

The Dalai Lama has conducted numerous public initiations in the Kalachakra, and is the author of many books, including books on the topic of Dzogchen, a practice in which he is accomplished. His teaching activities in the U.S. include the following:

In February 2007, the Dalai Lama was named ''Presidential Distinguished Professor'' at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia; it was the first time that he accepted a university appointment. On his April 2008 U.S. tour, he gave lectures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and at Colgate University (New York) Later in July, the Dalai Lama gave a public lecture and conducted a series of teachings at Lehigh University (Pennsylvania).

Interfaith dialogue[link]

The Dalai Lama met with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973. He met with Pope John Paul II in 1980 and also later in 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 2003. In 1990, he met in Dharamshala with a delegation of Jewish teachers for an extensive interfaith dialogue. He has since visited Israel three times and met during 2006 with the Chief Rabbi of Israel. In 2006, he met privately with Pope Benedict XVI. He has met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, and other leaders of the Anglican Church in London, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), as well as senior Eastern Orthodox Church, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Sikh officials. The Dalai Lama is also currently a member of the Board of World Religious Leaders as part of The Elijah Interfaith Institute and participated in the Third Meeting of the Board of World Religious Leaders in Amritsar, India, on 26 November 2007 to discuss the topic of Love and Forgiveness.

On 6 January 2009, at Gujarat's Mahuva, the Dalai Lama inaugurated an interfaith "World Religions-Dialogue and Symphony" conference convened by Hindu preacher Morari Bapu. This conference explored "ways and means to deal with the discord among major religions", according to Morari Bapu. He has stated that modern scientific findings should take precedence where appropriate over disproven religious superstition.

On 12 May 2010, in Bloomington, Indiana (USA) the Dalai Lama, joined by a panel of select scholars, officially launched the Common Ground Project, which he and HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan had planned over the course of several years of personal conversations. The project is based on the book ''Common Ground between Islam and Buddhism''.

Social stances[link]

Abortion[link]

The Dalai Lama has explained that, from the perspective of the Buddhist precepts, abortion is an act of killing,. He has also clarified that in certain cases abortion could be considered ethically acceptable "if the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent", which could only be determined on a case-by-case basis. According to some, this relatively nuanced and flexible position is a contrast with apparently dominant cultural attitudes in Tibet, where abortion is reportedly disapproved of, and where despite its free availability, women reportedly do not so avail themselves.

Democracy, non-violence, religious harmony, and Tibet's relationship with India[link]

The Dalai Lama says that he is active in spreading India's message of non-violence and religious harmony throughout the world. "I am the messenger of India's ancient thoughts the world over." He has said that democracy has deep roots in India. He says he considers India the master and Tibet its disciple, as great scholars like Nagarjuna went from Nalanda to Tibet to preach Buddhism in the eighth century. He has noted that millions of people lost their lives in violence and the economies of many countries were ruined due to conflicts in the 20th century. " Let the 21st century be a century of tolerance and dialogue."

In 1993, the Dalai Lama attended the World Conference on Human Rights and made a speech titled "Human Rights and Universal Responsibility".

In 2001, he answered the question of a girl in a Seattle school by saying that it is permissible to shoot someone with a gun in self-defense if that person was "trying to kill you," and he emphasized that the shot should not be fatal.

Diet and animal welfare[link]

The Dalai Lama advocates compassion for animals and frequently urges people to try vegetarianism or at least reduce their consumption of meat. In Tibet, where historically meat was the most common food, most monks historically have been omnivores, including the Dalai Lamas. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama was raised in a meat-eating family but converted to vegetarianism after arriving in India, where vegetables are much more easily available. He spent many years as a vegetarian, but after contracting Hepatitis in India and suffering from weakness, his doctors ordered him to eat meat on alternating days, which he did for several years. He tried switching back to a vegetarian diet, but once again returned to limited consumption of meat. This attracted public attention when, during a visit to the White House, he was offered a vegetarian menu but declined by replying, as he is known to do on occasion when dining in the company of non-vegetarians, "I'm a Tibetan monk, not a vegetarian". His own home kitchen, however, is completely vegetarian.

Economics[link]

The Dalai Lama has referred to himself as a Marxist and has articulated criticisms of capitalism. He reports hearing of communism when he was very young, but only in the context of the destruction of Communist Mongolia. It was only when he went on his trip to Beijing that he studied Marxist theory. At that time, he reports, "I was so attracted to Marxism, I even expressed my wish to become a Communist Party member", citing his favorite concepts of self-sufficiency and equal distribution of wealth. He does not believe that China implemented "true Marxist policy", and thinks the historical communist states such as the Soviet Union "were far more concerned with their narrow national interests than with the Workers' International". Of capitalism, he said that in China, "millions of people's living standards improved", but that it "is only how to make profits", whereas Marxism has "moral ethics". }}

Environment[link]

The Dalai Lama is outspoken in his concerns about environmental problems, frequently giving public talks on themes related to the environment. He has pointed out that many rivers in Asia originate in Tibet, and that the melting of Himalayan glaciers could affect the countries in which the rivers flow. He acknowledged official Chinese laws against deforestation in Tibet, but is cynical because of possible official corruption. He was quoted as saying "ecology should be part of our daily life"; personally, he takes showers instead of baths, and turns lights off when he leaves a room. Around 2005, he has started campaigning for wildlife conservation, including by issuing a religious ruling against wearing tiger and leopard skins as garments. The Dalai Lama supports anti-whaling partisans in the whaling controversy, but condemns their violent methods. Ahead of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, he urged national leaders to put aside domestic concerns and take collective action against climate change.

Sexuality[link]

A monk since childhood, the Dalai Lama has said that sex offers fleeting satisfaction and leads to trouble later, while chastity offers a better life and "more independence, more freedom". He has observed that problems arising from conjugal life sometimes even lead to suicide or murder. He has asserted that all religions have the same view about adultery.

In his discussions of the traditional Buddhist view on appropriate sexual behavior, he explains the concept of "right organ in the right object at the right time," which historically has been interpreted as indicating that oral, manual and anal sex (both homosexual and heterosexual) are not appropriate in Buddhism or for Buddhists, yet he also says that in modern times all common, consensual sexual practices that do not cause harm to others are ethically acceptable and that society should not discriminate against gays and lesbians and should accept and respect them from a secular point of view. In a 1994 interview with ''OUT Magazine'', the Dalai Lama clarified his personal opinion on the matter by saying, "If someone comes to me and asks whether homosexuality is okay or not, I will ask 'What is your companion's opinion?'. If you both agree, then I think I would say, 'If two males or two females voluntarily agree to have mutual satisfaction without further implication of harming others, then it is okay.'"

In his 1996 book ''Beyond Dogma'', he described a traditional Buddhist definition of an appropriate sexual act as follows: "A sexual act is deemed proper when the couples use the organs intended for sexual intercourse and nothing else... Homosexuality, whether it is between men or between women, is not improper in itself. What is improper is the use of organs already defined as inappropriate for sexual contact." He elaborated in 1997, explaining that the basis of that teaching was unknown to him and acknowledging that "some of the teachings may be specific to a particular cultural and historic context," while clarifying the historical Buddhist position (in contrast with his personal opinion) by saying, "Buddhist sexual proscriptions ban homosexual activity and heterosexual sex through orifices other than the vagina, including masturbation or other sexual activity with the hand... From a Buddhist point of view, lesbian and gay sex is generally considered sexual misconduct". Nonetheless, he reiterated, Buddhism calls for respect, compassion, and equal treatment for all, including homosexuals.

Women's rights[link]

On gender equality and sexism, the Dalai Lama proclaimed at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee in 2009: "I call myself a feminist. Isn't that what you call someone who fights for women's rights?"

Controversies[link]

The twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo (the only prominent female tulku in Tibet) was quoted in ''Xinhua'' as saying that "The sins of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and seriously damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism's normal order and good reputation", adding that "Old Tibet was dark and cruel, the serfs lived worse than horses and cattle."

Dorje Shugden[link]

During a teaching tour of the UK in May 2008, members of the Western Shugden Society came out to demonstrate against the banning of a prayer to Dorje Shugden, which they call religious persecution. Similar protests occurred in Sydney when the Dalai Lama arrived in Australia in June 2008. The Dalai Lama says he had not banned the practice, but strongly discourages it as he feels it promotes a spirit as being more important than Buddha, and that it may encourage cult-like practices and sectarianism within Tibetan Buddhism. The Shugden worshipers in India protest that they are denied admission to hospitals, stores, and other social services provided by the local Tibetan community.

Recognition of the 17th Karmapa[link]

Another controversy associated with the Dalai Lama is the recognition of the seventeenth Karmapa. Two factions of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism have chosen two different Karmapas, leading to a deep division within the Kagyu school. The Dalai Lama has given his support to Urgyen Trinley Dorje, while supporters of Trinley Thaye Dorje claim that the Dalai Lama has no authority in the matter, nor is there a historical precedent for a Dalai Lama involving himself in an internal Kagyu dispute. In his 2001 address at the International Karma Kagyu Conference, Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche—one of the four Karma Kagyu regents—accused the Dalai Lama of adopting a "divide and conquer" policy to eliminate any potential political rivalry arising from within the Kagyu school. For his side, the Dalai Lama accepted the prediction letter presented by Tai Situ Rinpoche (another Karma Kagyu regent) as authentic, and therefore Tai Situ Rinpoche's recognition of Urgyen Trinley Dorje, also as correct. Tibet observer Julian Gearing suggests that there might be political motives to the Dalai Lama's decision: "''The Dalai Lama gave his blessing to the recognition of [Urgyen] Trinley, eager to win over the formerly troublesome sect [the Kagyu school], and with the hope that the new Karmapa could play a role in a political solution of the 'Tibet Question.' ...If the allegations are to be believed, a simple nomad boy was turned into a political and religious pawn''." However, according to Tsurphu Labrang, articles by Julian Gearing on this subject are biased, unverified and without crosschecking of basic facts.

CIA backing[link]

In October 1998, the Dalai Lama's administration acknowledged that it received $1.7 million a year in the 1960s from the U.S. government through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and also trained a resistance movement in Colorado. When asked by CIA officer John Kenneth Knaus in 1995 whether the organisation did a good or bad thing in providing its support, the Dalai Lama replied that though it helped the morale of those resisting the Chinese, "thousands of lives were lost in the resistance" and further, that "the U.S. Government had involved itself in his country's affairs not to help Tibet but only as a Cold War tactic to challenge the Chinese."

Ties to India[link]

The Chinese press has criticized the Dalai Lama for his close ties with India. His 2010 remarks at the International Buddhist Conference in Gujarat saying that he was "Tibetan in appearance, but an Indian in spirituality" and referral to himself as a "son of India" in particular led the ''People's Daily'' to opine, "Since the Dalai Lama deems himself an Indian rather than Chinese, then why is he entitled to represent the voice of the Tibetan people?" Dhundup Gyalpo of the ''Tibet Sun'' shot back that Tibetan religion could be traced back to Nalanda in India, and that Tibetans have no connection to Chinese "apart... from a handful of culinary dishes". The People's Daily stressed the links between Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism and accused the Dalai Lama of "betraying southern Tibet to India". Two years earlier in 2008, the Dalai Lama said for the first time that the territory, which India claims as part of Arunachal Pradesh, is part of India, citing the disputed 1914 Simla Accord.

Public image[link]

The Dalai Lama's appeal is variously ascribed to his charismatic personality, international fascination with Buddhism, his universalist values, international sympathy for the Tibetans, and western sinophobia. In the 1990s, many films were released by the American film industry about Tibet, including biopics of the Dalai Lama. This is attributed to both the Dalai Lama's 1989 Nobel Peace Prize as well as to the euphoria following the Fall of Communism. The most notable films, ''Kundun'' and ''Seven Years in Tibet'' (both released in 1997), portrayed "an idyllic pre-1950 Tibet, with a smiling, soft-spoken Dalai Lama at the helm – a Dalai Lama sworn to non-violence": portrayals the Chinese government decried as ahistorical. One South African official publicly criticised the Dalai Lama's politics and lamented a taboo on criticism of him, saying "To say anything against the Dalai Lama is, in some quarters, equivalent to trying to shoot Bambi".

Critics of the news and entertainment media coverage of the controversy charge that feudal Tibet was not as benevolent as popularly portrayed. The penal code before 1913 included forms of judicial mutilation and capital punishment to enforce a social system controversially described as both slavery and serfdom. In response, the Dalai Lama agreed many of old Tibet's practices needed reform. His predecessor had banned extreme punishments and the death penalty. And he had started some reforms like removal of debt inheritance during the early years of his government under the People's Republic of China in 1951.

The Dalai Lama has his own page on Facebook.

International reception[link]

The Dalai Lama has been successful in gaining Western sympathy for himself and the cause of greater Tibetan autonomy or independence, including vocal support from numerous Hollywood celebrities, most notably the actors Richard Gere and Steven Seagal, as well as lawmakers from several major countries.

Awards and honors[link]

The Dalai Lama has received numerous awards over his spiritual and political career. In 1959, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. On 22 June 2006, he became one of only five people ever to be recognised with Honorary Citizenship by the Governor General of Canada. On 28 May 2005, he received the Christmas Humphreys Award from the Buddhist Society in the United Kingdom. After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Dalai Lama the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee officially gave the prize to the Dalai Lama for "the struggle of the liberation of Tibet and the efforts for a peaceful resolution" and "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi" although the President of the Committee also said that the prize was intended to put pressure on China, who was reportedly infuriated that the award was given to a separatist. In 2012, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Templeton Prize.

Retirement[link]

In May 2007, Chhime Rigzing, a senior spokesman for his office, stated that the Dalai Lama was moving into "retirement", but in 2008 the Dalai Lama himself ruled out such a move, saying "There is no... question of retirement." Rigzing stated "The political leadership will be transferred over a period of time but he will inevitably continue to be the spiritual leader". The Dalai Lama announced he would like the Tibetan Parliament in Exile to have more responsibility over the Central Tibetan Administration.

In response to the 2008 Tibetan unrest, on 18 March 2008 the Dalai Lama threatened to step down, which would be a first for a Dalai Lama. Aides later clarified that this threat was predicated on a further escalation of violence, and that he did not presently have the intention of leaving his political or spiritual offices.

In the ensuing months, he held meetings aimed at discussing the future institution of the Dalai Lama, including "[A] conclave, like in the Catholic Church, a woman as my successor, no Dalai Lama anymore, or perhaps even two", referring to the possibility of having both his approved successor and China's approved successor both claiming the title. He has clarified that his goal is to relinquish all temporal power and to no longer play a "pronounced spiritual role" and have a simpler monastic life.

In a speech given on 10 March 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama stated that he will propose changes to the constitution of the Tibetan government in exile which will remove the Dalai Lama's role as head of state, replacing him with an elected leader. If accepted by the Tibetan parliament in exile, this will constitute the Dalai Lama's retirement from his formal political role, although he will retain his position as a religious dignitary. He formally submitted his resignation as political leader to the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, India, on 14 March 2011.

On May 29, 2011, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama ... ratified the amendment to the charter of Tibetans delegating his administrative and political authorities to the democratically elected leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration."

Succession and reincarnation[link]

On 24 September 2011, the Dalai Lama issued the following statement concerning his reincarnation:

When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not. On that basis we will take a decision. If it is decided that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should continue and there is a need for the Fifteenth Dalai Lama to be recognized, responsibility for doing so will primarily rest on the concerned officers of the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Trust. They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should seek advice and direction from these concerned beings and carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition. I shall leave clear written instructions about this. Bear in mind that, apart from the reincarnation recognized through such legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, including those in the People’s Republic of China.

On 3 October 2011, the Dalai Lama repeated his statement in an interview with Canadian Television. He added that Chinese laws banning the selection of successors based on reincarnation will not impact his decisions. "Naturally my next life is entirely up to me. No one else. And also this is not a political matter," he said in the interview. The Dalai Lama also added that he was not decided on whether he would reincarnate or if he would be the last Dalai Lama.

Bibliography[link]

''Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama'', London: Little, Brown and Co., 1990, ISBN 978-0-349-10462-1

''The World of Tibetan Buddhism'', translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, foreword by Richard Gere, Wisdom Publications, 1995, ISBN 0861711009

''The Gelug/Kagyü Tradition of Mahamudra'', co-authored with Alexander Berzin. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1997, ISBN 978-1-55939-072-9

''The Art of Happiness'', co-authored with Howard C. Cutler, M.D., Riverhead Books, 1998, ISBN 978-0-9656682-9-3

''Ethics for the New Millennium'', Riverhead Books, 1999, ISBN 978-1-57322-883-1

''Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for the New Millennium'', LIttle, Brown/Abacus Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-349-11443-9

''Dzogchen: Heart Essence of the Great Perfection'', translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa and Richard Barron, Snow Lion Publications, 2000, ISBN 978-1-55939-219-8

''The Meaning of Life: Buddhist Perspectives on Cause and Effect'', Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, Wisdom Publications, 2000, ISBN 978-0-86171-173-4

''The Compassionate Life'', Wisdom Publications, 2001, ISBN 978-0-86171-378-3

''Violence and Compassion: Dialogues on Life Today'', with Jean-Claude Carriere, Doubleday, 2001, ISBN 978-0-385-50144-6

''Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings'', edited by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Wisdom Publications, 2002, ISBN 978-0-86171-284-7

''The Art of Happiness at Work'', co-authored with Howard C. Cutler, M.D., Riverhead, 2003, ISBN 978-1-59448-054-6

''Der Weg des Herzens. Gewaltlosigkeit und Dialog zwischen den Religionen (The Path of the Heart: Non-violence and the Dialogue among Religions)'', co-authored with Eugen Drewermann, PhD, Patmos Verlag, 2003, ISBN 978-3-491-69078-3

''The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys'', coauthored with Victor Chan, Riverbed Books, 2004, ISBN 978-1-57322-277-8

''The New Physics and Cosmology: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama'', edited by Arthur Zajonc, with contributions by David Finkelstein, George Greenstein, Piet Hut, Tu Wei-ming, Anton Zeilinger, B. Alan Wallace and Thupten Jinpa, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-19-515994-3

''The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality'', Morgan Road Books, 2005, ISBN 978-0-7679-2066-7

''How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships'', translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Atria Books, 2005, ISBN 978-0-7432-6968-1

''Living Wisdom with His Holiness the Dalai Lama'', with Don Farber, Sounds True, 2006, ISBN 978-1591794578

''Mind in Comfort and Ease: The Vision of Enlightenment in the Great Perfection '', with Patrick Gaffney, Matthieu Ricard and Richard Barron, Wisdom Publications, 2007, ISBN 978-0-86171-493-3

''The Leader's Way'', co-authored with Laurens van den Muyzenberg, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-85788-511-8

''How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life'', translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, ISBN 978-0-7434-5336-3

''Kalachakra Tantra: Rite of Initiation'', edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-151-2

''The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus'', translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-138-3

''Opening the Eye of New Awareness'', Translated by Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-155-0

''Imagine All the People: A Conversation with the Dalai Lama on Money, Politics, and Life as it Could Be'', Coauthored with Fabien Ouaki, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-150-5

''An Open Heart'', edited by Nicholas Vreeland; Little, Brown; ISBN 978-0-316-98979-4

''Practicing Wisdom: The Perfection of Shantideva's Bodhisattva Way'', translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-182-6

''Tibetan Portrait: The Power of Compassion'', photographs by Phil Borges with sayings by Tenzin Gyatso. ISBN 978-0-8478-1957-7

''The Heart of Compassion: A Practical Approach to a Meaningful Life'', Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Press, ISBN 978-0-940985-36-0

''My Tibet'', co-authored with photographer Galen Rowell, ISBN 978-0-520-08948-8

''Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying'', edited by Francisco Varela, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-123-9

''How to See Yourself As You Really Are'', translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, ISBN 978-0-7432-9045-6

''MindScience: An East-West Dialogue'', with contributions by Herbert Benson, Daniel Goleman, Robert Thurman, and Howard Gardner, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 978-0-86171-066-9

''The Power of Buddhism'', co-authored with Jean-Claude Carriere, ISBN 978-0-7171-2803-7

See also[link]

Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education

Tibetan Resistance Since 1950

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Craig, Mary. ''Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama'' (1997) Counterpoint. Calcutta. ISBN 978-1-887178-64-8

Iyer, Pico. ''The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama'' (2008) Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 978-0-307-38755-4

Knaus, Robert Kenneth. ''Orphans of the Cold War: America and the Tibetan Struggle for Survival'' (1999) PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-891620-18-8

Richardson, Hugh E. (1984). ''Tibet & Its History''. 1st edition 1962. 2nd edition, Revised and Updated. Shambhala Publications, Boston. ISBN 978-0-87773-376-8 (pbk).

Shakya, Tsering. ''The Dragon In The Land Of Snows'' (1999) Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11814-9

Further reading[link]

Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). ''The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation'', pp. 452–515. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 978-1-57416-092-5.

External links[link]

Dalai Lama on Google+

Collection of speeches and letters

H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso – at Rigpa Wiki

Dalai Lama at facebook.com

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af:Tenzin Gyatso als:Tenzin Gyatso ar:تينزن غياتسو bn:চতুর্দশ দলাই লামা zh-min-nan:Dalai Lama 14-sè be:Далай-лама XIV be-x-old:Далай-лама XIV bo:བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ། bg:Тензин Гяцо ca:Tenzin Gyatso cs:Tändzin Gjamccho co:Tenzin Gyatso cy:Tenzin Gyatso, 14eg Dalai Lama da:Tenzin Gyatso de:Tendzin Gyatsho et:Tenzin Gyatso es:Tenzin Gyatso eo:Tenzin Gyatso eu:Tenzin Gyatso fa:دالایی لامای چهاردهم fr:Tenzin Gyatso gd:Tenzin Gyatso gan:丹增嘉措 ko:텐진 갸초 hi:तेनजिन ग्यात्सो hr:Tenzin Gyatso, XIV. Dalaj Lama id:Tenzin Gyatso is:Tenzin Gyatso it:Tenzin Gyatso he:טנזין גיאטסו jv:Tenzin Gyatso ka:XIV დალაი ლამა la:Tenzin Gyatso lv:Tenzins Gjaco lt:Dalai Lama XIV hu:Tendzin Gyaco mk:Тенцин Гјацо mr:चौदावे दलाई लामा mzn:تنزین گیاتسو ms:Dalai Lama ke-14 mn:Арвандөрөвдүгээр Далай лам nl:Tenzin Gyatso (dalai lama) ja:ダライ・ラマ14世 no:Tenzin Gyatso nn:Tenzin Gyatso pnb:دلائی لاما pl:Tenzin Gjaco pt:Tenzin Gyatso ksh:Tenzin Gyatso ro:Tenzin Gyatso ru:Далай-лама XIV se:Tenzin Gyatso sq:Tendzin Gyatsho scn:Tenzin Gyatso simple:14th Dalai Lama sk:Dalajláma XIV. sl:Tenzin Gyatso sr:Тензин Гјатсо fi:Tenzin Gyatso sv:Tenzin Gyatso ta:டென்சின் கியாட்சோ, 14வது தலாய் லாமா th:ทะไลลามะ องค์ที่สิบสี่ tr:Tenzin Gyatso uk:Далай-лама XIV vi:Tenzin Gyatso war:Ika-14 nga Dalai Lama yo:Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama zh-yue:丹增嘉措 zh:第十四世达赖喇嘛·丹增嘉措

reign	1391–1474
native lang1	Tibetan
native lang1 name1
native lang2	Wylie transliteration
native lang2 name1	taa la'i bla ma
native lang3	Pronunciation
native lang3 name1
native lang5	THDL
native lang5 name1	Dalai Lama
native lang8	Pinyin Chinese
native lang8 name1	Dálài Lǎmā
royal house	Dalai Lama / Takla
royal anthem	}}

|wylie=taa la'i bla ma}} The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word ''далай (dalai)'' meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word ''bla-ma'' (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".

In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.

For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only they have the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.

The original use of the name ''Dalai Lama''[link]

In 1578 the Mongol ruler Altan Khan bestowed the title ''Dalai Lama'' on Sonam Gyatso. The title was later applied retrospectively to the two predecessors in his reincarnation line, Gendun Drup and Gendun Gyatso. Gendun Gyatso was also Sonam Gyatso's predecessor as abbot of Drepung monastery. However, the 14th Dalai Lama asserts that Altan Khan did not intend to bestow a title as such and that he intended only to translate the name "Sonam Gyatso" into Mongolian.

The 14th Dalai Lama commented:

Whatever the intention may have been originally, the Mongolian "Dalai", which does not have any meaning as a Tibetan term, came to be understood commonly as a title.

The name or title ''Dalai Lama'' in Mongolian may also have derived originally from the title taken by Temüjin or Genghis Khan when he was proclaimed emperor of a united Mongolia during 1206. Temüjin took the name Čingis Qāghan or "oceanic sovereign", the anglicized version of which is Genghis Khan.

Tibetans address the Dalai Lama as ''Gyalwa Rinpoche'' ("Precious Victor"), ''Kundun'' ("Presence"), ''Yishin Norbu'' ("Wish fulfilling Gem") and so on.

Sonam Gyatso was an abbot at the Drepung Monastery who was considered widely as one of the most eminent lamas of his time. Although Sonam Gyatso became the first lama to have the title "Dalai Lama" as described above, since he was the third member of his lineage, he became known as the "Third Dalai Lama". The previous two titles were conferred posthumously upon his supposed earlier incarnations.

Yonten Gyatso (1589–1616), the 4th Dalai Lama, and a non-Tibetan, was the grandson of Altan Khan.

The tulku tradition of the Dalai Lama has evolved into, and been inaugurated as, an institution:

Verhaegen mentions the trans-polity influence that the Institution of the Dalai Lama has had historically in areas such as western China, Mongolia, Ladakh in addition to the other Himalayan Kingdoms:

The current Dalai Lama is often called "His Holiness" (HH) by Westerners (by analogy with the Pope), although this does not translate to a Tibetan title.

Before the 20th century, European sources often referred to the Dalai Lama as the "Grand Lama". For example, in 1785 Benjamin Franklin Bache mocked George Washington by terming him the "Grand Lama of this Country". Some in the West believed the Dalai Lama to be worshipped by the Tibetans as the godhead.

History[link]

During 1252, Kublai Khan granted an audience to Drogön Chögyal Phagpa and Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa. Karma Pakshi, however, sought the patronage of Möngke Khan. Before his death in 1283, Karma Pakshi wrote a will to protect the established interests of his sect by advising his disciples to locate a boy to inherit the black hat. His instruction was based on the premise that Buddhist ideology is eternal, and that Buddha would send emanations to complete the missions he had initiated. Karma Pakshi's disciples acted in accordance with the will and located the reincarnated boy of their master. The event was the beginning of the teacher reincarnation system for the Black-Hat Line of Tibetan Buddhism. During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle bestowed the title ''Great Treasure Prince of Dharma'', the first of the three ''Princes of Dharma'', upon the Black-Hat Karmapa. Various sects of Tibetan Buddhism responded to the teacher reincarnation system by creating similar lineages.

Unification of Tibet[link]

In the 1630s, Tibet became entangled in power struggles between the rising Manchu and various Mongol and Oirat factions. Ligden Khan of the Chakhar, retreating from the Manchu, set out to Tibet to destroy the Yellow Hat sect. He died on the way to Qinghai (Koko Nur) in 1634. His vassal Tsogt Taij continued the fight, even having his own son Arslan killed after Arslan changed sides. Tsogt Taij was defeated and killed by Güshi Khan of the Khoshud in 1637, who would in turn become the overlord of Tibet, and act as a "Protector of the Yellow Church." Güshi helped the Fifth Dalai Lama to establish himself as the highest spiritual and political authority in Tibet and destroyed any potential rivals. The time of the Fifth Dalai Lama was, however, also a period of rich cultural development.

The Fifth Dalai Lama's death was kept secret for fifteen years by the regent (), Sanggye Gyatso. This was apparently done so that the Potala Palace could be finished, and to prevent Tibet's neighbours taking advantage of an interregnum in the succession of the Dalai Lamas.

Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama, was not enthroned until 1697. Tsangyang Gyatso enjoyed a lifestyle that included drinking, the company of women, and writing love songs. In 1705, Lobzang Khan of the Khoshud used the sixth Dalai Lama's escapades as excuse to take control of Tibet. The regent was murdered, and the Dalai Lama sent to Beijing. He died on the way, near Koko Nur, ostensibly from illness. Lobzang Khan appointed a new Dalai Lama who, however was not accepted by the Gelugpa school. Kelzang Gyatso was discovered near Koko Nur and became a rival candidate.

The Dzungars invaded Tibet in 1717, and deposed and killed Lobzang Khan's pretender to the position of Dalai Lama. This was widely approved. However, they soon began to loot the holy places of Lhasa, which brought a swift response from Emperor Kangxi in 1718; but his military expedition was annihilated by the Dzungars, not far from Lhasa.

A second, larger, expedition sent by Emperor Kangxi expelled the Dzungars from Tibet in 1720 and the troops were hailed as liberators. They brought Kelzang Gyatso with them from Kumbum to Lhasa and he was installed as the seventh Dalai Lama in 1721.

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of the present 14th Dalai Lama, describes these unfortunate events as follows:

Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, assumed ruling power from the monasteries, which previously had great influence on the Regent, during 1895. Due to his two periods of exile in 1904–1909, to escape the British invasion of 1904, and from 1910–1912 to escape a Chinese invasion, he became well aware of the complexities of international politics and was the first Dalai Lama to become aware of the importance of foreign relations. After his return from exile in India and Sikkim during January 1913, he assumed control of foreign relations and dealt directly with the Maharaja and the British Political officer in Sikkim and the king of Nepal rather than letting the Kashag or parliament do it.

Thubten Gyatso issued a Declaration of Independence for his kingdom in Central Tibet from China during the summer of 1912 and standardised a Tibetan flag, though no other sovereign state recognized the independence. He expelled the Ambans and all Chinese civilians in the country, and instituted many measures to modernise Tibet. These included provisions to curb excessive demands on peasants for provisions by the monasteries and tax evasion by the nobles, setting up an independent police force, the abolishment of the death penalty, extension of secular education, and the provision of electricity throughout the city of Lhasa in the 1920s. Thubten Gyatso died in 1933.

The 14th Dalai Lama was not formally enthroned until 17 November 1950, during the People's Republic of China invasion of the kingdom. In 1951, he and the Tibetan government formally accepted the Seventeen Point Agreement by which Tibet was formally incorporated into the People's Republic of China. Fearing for his life in the wake of a revolt in Tibet in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India where he has led a government in exile since. In 2001, he ceded his absolute power over the government to an elected parliament of selected Tibetan exiles. His original goal was full independence for Tibet, but by the late 1980s, he was seeking high-level autonomy instead. He is still seeking greater autonomy from China, although Dolma Gyari, deputy speaker of the parliament-in-exile has stated "If the middle path fails in the short term, we will be forced to opt for complete independence or selfdetermination as per the UN charter".

Residence[link]

Starting with the 5th Dalai Lama and until the 14th Dalai Lama's flight into exile during 1959, the Dalai Lamas spent winters at the Potala Palace and summers at the Norbulingka palace and park. Both are in Lhasa and approximately 3 km apart.

Following the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge in India. The then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, allowed in the Dalai Lama and his coterie of Tibetan government officials. The Dalai Lama has since lived in exile in Dharamshala, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, where the Central Tibetan Administration is also established. Tibetan refugees have constructed and opened many schools and Buddhist temples in Dharamshala.

Searching for the reincarnation[link]

By the Himalayan tradition, phowa (Tibetan) is the discipline that transfers the mindstream to the intended body. Upon the death of the Dalai Lama and consultation with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama's reincarnation, or ''yangsi'' (''yang srid''), is conducted. Traditionally it has been the responsibility of the High Lamas of the Gelugpa Tradition and the Tibetan government to find his reincarnation. The process can take around two or three years to identify the Dalai Lama, and for the 14th, Tenzin Gyatso it was four years before he was found. The search for the Dalai Lama has usually been limited historically to Tibet, although the third tulku was born in Mongolia. Tenzin Gyatso, though, has stated that he will not be reborn in the People's Republic of China. In his autobiography, ''Freedom In Exile'', he states that if Tibet is not free, he will reincarnate elsewhere''."

The High Lamas used several ways in which they can increase the chances of finding the reincarnation. High Lamas often visit the holy lake, called Lhamo La-tso, in central Tibet and watch for a sign from the lake itself. This may be either a vision or some indication of the direction in which to search and this was how Tenzin Gyatso was found. It is said that Palden Lhamo, the female guardian spirit of the sacred lake, Lhamo La-tso, promised Gendun Drup, the 1st Dalai Lama in one of his visions "that she would protect the reincarnation lineage of the Dalai Lamas." Ever since the time of Gendun Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama, who formalised the system, the Regents and other monks have gone to the lake to seek guidance on choosing the next reincarnation through visions while meditating there.

The particular form of Palden Lhamo at Lhamo La-tso is Gyelmo Maksorma, "The Victorious One who Turns Back Enemies". The lake is sometimes referred to as "Pelden Lhamo Kalideva", which indicates that Palden Lhamo is an emanation of the goddess Kali, the shakti of the Hindu God Shiva.

It was here that during 1935, the Regent, Reting Rinpoche, received a clear vision of three Tibetan letters and of a monastery with a jade-green and gold roof, and a house with turquoise roof tiles, which led to the discovery of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.

High Lamas may also have a vision by a dream or if the Dalai Lama was cremated, they will often monitor the direction of the smoke as an indication of the direction of the rebirth.

Once the High Lamas have found the home and the boy they believe to be the reincarnation, the boy undergoes a series of tests to affirm the rebirth. They present a number of artifacts, only some of which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, and if the boy chooses the items which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, this is seen as a sign, in conjunction with all of the other indications, that the boy is the reincarnation.

If there is only one boy found, the High Lamas will invite Living Buddhas of the three great monasteries together with secular clergy and monk officials, to confirm their findings and will then report to the Central Government through the Minister of Tibet. Later a group consisting of the three major servants of Dalai Lama, eminent officials and troops will collect the boy and his family and travel to Lhasa, where the boy would be taken, usually to Drepung Monastery to study the Buddhist sutra in preparation for assuming the role of spiritual leader of Tibet.

However, if there are several possibilities of the reincarnation, in the past regents and eminent officials and monks at the Jokhang in Lhasa, and the Minister to Tibet would decide on the individual by putting the boys' names inside an urn and drawing one lot in public if it was too difficult to judge the reincarnation initially.

List of Dalai Lamas[link]

There have been 14 recognised reincarnations of the Dalai Lama: File:1stDalaiLama.jpg2nd Dalai Lama3rd Dalai Lama4th Dalai Lama5th Dalai Lama6th Dalai Lama7th Dalai Lama8th Dalai Lama9th Dalai Lama10th Dalai Lama11th Dalai Lama12th Dalai Lama13th Dalai Lama14th Dalai Lama

!! Name !! Picture !! Lifespan !! Recognised !! Enthronement !! Tibetan language	Tibetan/Wylie !! Tibetan pinyin/Chinese !! Alternative spellings
align="right"	1	1st Dalai Lama>Gendun Drup	60px ||	1391–1474	–	N/A	''dge 'dun 'grub''	Gêdün Chub根敦朱巴	Gedun DrubGedün DrupGendun Drup
align="right"	2	Gendun Gyatso ||	File:2Dalai.jpg>60px	1475–1542	–	N/A	''dge 'dun rgya mtsho''	Gêdün Gyaco根敦嘉措	Gedün GyatsoGendün Gyatso
align="right"	3	Sonam Gyatso ||	File:3rdDalaiLama2.jpg>60px	1543–1588	?	1578	''bsod nams rgya mtsho''	Soinam Gyaco索南嘉措	Sönam Gyatso
align="right"	4	Yonten Gyatso ||	File:4DalaiLama.jpg>60px	1589–1617	?	1603	''yon tan rgya mtsho''	Yoindain Gyaco雲丹嘉措	Yontan Gyatso, Yönden Gyatso
align="right"	5	Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso ||	File:NgawangLozangGyatso.jpg>60px	1617–1682	1618	1622	''blo bzang rgya mtsho''	Lobsang Gyaco羅桑嘉措	Lobzang GyatsoLopsang Gyatso
align="right"	6	Tsangyang Gyatso ||	File:6DalaiLama.jpg>60px	1683–1706	1688	1697	''tshang dbyangs rgya mtsho''	Cangyang Gyaco倉央嘉措	Tsañyang Gyatso
align="right"	7	Kelzang Gyatso ||	File:7DalaiLama.jpg>60px	1708–1757	?	1720	''bskal bzang rgya mtsho''	Gaisang Gyaco格桑嘉措	Kelsang GyatsoKalsang Gyatso
align="right"	8	Jamphel Gyatso ||	File:8thDalaiLama.jpg>60px	1758–1804	1760	1762	''byams spel rgya mtsho''	Qambê Gyaco強白嘉措	Jampel GyatsoJampal Gyatso
align="right"	9	Lungtok Gyatso ||	File:9thDalaiLama.jpg>60px	1805–1815	1807	1808	''lung rtogs rgya mtsho''	Lungdog Gyaco隆朵嘉措	Lungtog Gyatso
10	Tsultrim Gyatso ||	File:10thDalaiLama.jpg>60px	1816–1837	1822	1822	''tshul khrim rgya mtsho''	Cüchim Gyaco楚臣嘉措	Tshültrim Gyatso
11	Khendrup Gyatso ||	File:11thDalaiLama1.jpg>60px	1838–1856	1841	1842	''mkhas grub rgya mtsho''	Kaichub Gyaco凱珠嘉措	Kedrub Gyatso
12	Trinley Gyatso ||	File:12thDalai Lama.jpg>60px	1857–1875	1858	1860	'''phrin las rgya mtsho''	Chinlai Gyaco成烈嘉措	Trinle Gyatso
13	Thubten Gyatso ||	File:BMR.86.1.23.3-O-1- cropped.jpg>60px	1876–1933	1878	1879	''thub bstan rgya mtsho''	Tubdain Gyaco土登嘉措	Thubtan GyatsoThupten Gyatso
14	Tenzin Gyatso ||	File:Tenzin Gyatzo foto 1.jpg>60px	born 1935	1937	1950(currently in exile)	''bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho''	Dainzin Gyaco丹增嘉措	Tenzing Gyatso

There has also been one nonrecognised Dalai Lama, Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso, declared 28 June 1707, when he was 25 years old, by Lha-bzang Khan as the "true" 6th Dalai Lama – however, he was never accepted as such by the majority of the population.

Future of the position[link]

The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has claimed the power to approve the naming of "high" reincarnations in Tibet, based on a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama by a lottery that used a golden urn with names wrapped in clumps of barley. This method was used a few times for both positions during the 19th century, but eventually fell into disuse. In 1995, the Dalai Lama chose to proceed with the selection of the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama without the use of the Golden Urn, while the Chinese government insisted that it must be used. This has led to two rival Panchen Lamas: Gyaincain Norbu as chosen by the Chinese government's process, and Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as chosen by the Dalai Lama.

During September 2007 the Chinese government said all high monks must be approved by the government, which would include the selection of the 15th Dalai Lama after the death of Tenzin Gyatso. Since by tradition, the Panchen Lama must approve the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, that is another possible method of control.

In response to this scenario, Tashi Wangdi, the representative of the 14th Dalai Lama, replied that the Chinese government's selection would be meaningless. "You can't impose an Imam, an Archbishop, saints, any religion...you can't politically impose these things on people," said Wangdi. "It has to be a decision of the followers of that tradition. The Chinese can use their political power: force. Again, it's meaningless. Like their Panchen Lama. And they can't keep their Panchen Lama in Tibet. They tried to bring him to his monastery many times but people would not see him. How can you have a religious leader like that?"

The Dalai Lama said as early as 1969 that it was for the Tibetans to decide whether the institution of the Dalai Lama "should continue or not". He has given reference to a possible vote occurring in the future for all Tibetan Buddhists to decide whether they wish to recognize his rebirth. In response to the possibility that the PRC may attempt to choose his successor, the Dalai Lama has said he will not be reborn in a country controlled by the People's Republic of China or any other country which is not free. According to Robert D. Kaplan, this could mean that "the next Dalai Lama might come from the Tibetan cultural belt that stretches across northern India, Nepal, and Bhutan, presumably making him even more pro-Indian and anti-Chinese".

See also[link]

Engaged Spirituality

Tibet Autonomous Region

Notes and references[link]

Bibliography[link]

Dowman, Keith. (1988). ''The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide''. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0 (pbk).

Laird, Thomas (2006). ''The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama''. Grove Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8021-827-1.

Richardson, Hugh E. (1984). ''Tibet and its History''. Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Shambhala. Boston & London. ISBN 0-87773-376-7 (pbk)

Murray Silver, "When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama," (Bonaventure Books, Savannah, 2005).

Norbu, Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin M. (1968). ''Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet''. Reprint: Touchstone Books. New York. ISBN 0-671-20559-5.

Schulemann, Guenther: ''Geschichte der Dalai-Lamas'', Harrassowitz, Leipzig, 1958.

Sheel, R. N. Rahul. "The Institution of the Dalai Lama." ''The Tibet Journal'', Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989.

Stein, R. A. (1972). ''Tibetan Civilization''. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN 0-8047-0901-7 (paper).

Diki Tsering, edited & introduced by Khedroob Thondop. (2000). ''Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother's Story''. Virgin Publishing Company, London. ISBN 0-7535-0571-1.

Verhaegen, Ardy (2002). ''The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and Its History''. Emerging Perceptions in Buddhist Studies, no. 15. New Delhi, India: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0202-6.

Yá Hánzhāng 牙含章: ''The Biographies of the Dalai Lamas'' (''Dálài Lǎmá chuán'' 达赖喇嘛传; Beijing, Foreign Languages Press 1993); ISBN 7-119-01267-3.

Further reading[link]

Dalai Lama. (1991) ''Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama.'' San Francisco, CA.

Goodman, Michael H. (1986). ''The Last Dalai Lama''. Shambhala Publications. Boston, MA.

Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). ''The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation''. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, NM. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.

External links[link]

* Category:Gelug Buddhists Category:Lamas Category:Lhasa Category:Politics of Tibet Category:Tulkus Category:Tibetan Buddhist titles Category:Buddhist religious leaders Category:Deified people

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name	The Basics
background	group_or_band
origin	Melbourne, Australia
genre	Rock
years active	2002–present
label	Independent, Albert Records
associated acts	Gotye, Down Hills Home, Dog With Wheels, Blood Red Bird
website	The Basics Official Website
current members	Wally De BackerKris SchroederTim Heath
past members	Michael Hubbard
notable instruments	Lead guitar, drums, bass guitar. }}

The Basics ( ) are a three-piece band from Melbourne, Australia, formed by Wally De Backer and Kris Schroeder in 2002. Their style has been described as anything from 'indie-pop' to 'rock'n'roll' to 'pop-rock', though their records show they span a wide range of genres, including reggae, ska, country, and electro-pop. They are "recognised as one of Australia's hardest-working bands".

With close to 1000 shows in their ten-year career, their live performances are well-known for their sense of humour and energy.

Formation [link]

The Basics were formed after Kris met Wally at a party in Melbourne. The event was to see off the young aspiring producer, who was about to depart for Los Angeles, and together with a number of musician friends, the two jammed on some blues-rock standards. Later that night, they bonded over a mutual love of The Beatles, 70s and 80s cartoon theme songs and old Sierra adventure games.

Initially, they played around Melbourne as an acoustic guitar/drums combo, starting at The Opposition in Frankston and the House of Fools in Footscray, where in late 2002 they met Michael Hubbard and later invited him to join them on electric guitar. Though lacking any real experience with the instrument, Kris willingly purchased his first bass guitar, and the trio was born. During this time, the group start performing songs with more complicated three-part harmony.

During late 2002 and early 2003, The Basics recorded and released an album called ''Get Back'' through MGM Distribution. They began what was to become regular tours of the East and West coasts of Australia.

2004-2005: Current lineup [link]

Tim Heath joined the group in June 2004, after Michael decided to pursue his solo career, which has included being one half of Down Hills Home. Tim was reportedly the only person to reply to an advertisement in Melbourne's Beat Magazine looking for a new guitarist. Tim apparently answered the advertisement - which said the applicant "must have a love of 50s and 60s rock'n'roll" - thinking that he would be meeting "a couple of old guys to play with on the weekends over some beers". They soon recorded ''For Girls Like You''.

The Basics in 2005 continued to tour and play small festivals, and after releasing ''For Girls Like You'' through MGM Distribution, they departed for a national tour of Australia, which lasted for two months and took them to every Australian state and territory. Stuart Padbury, a young Melbourne sound engineer, joined them on much of this tour. On returning, the band began demonstrating songs for a new album.

2006-2009: Touring and soundtracks [link]

In 2006, The Basics began recording what was to become known as ''Stand Out/Fit In''. Taking several months, it was not completed until the end of the year, despite intentions to have it released in June. Instead, they held a successful 'album preview', where each of the tracks was demonstrated in 'rough form' accompanied by a music video for each (produced by Melbourne photographic artist James Bryans). The band also talked about the origins of the songs. This event brought a lot of attention to the band for the idea's originality. They pre-released a radio single 'Just Hold On' from the album. The band were invited to play the hugely popular Homebake Festival in Sydney, where they received a great response, after being introduced onto the stage by a short stocky Asian guy with big calves ("one of the highlights" wrote ''The Daily Telegraph'').

In 2007, the band departed on a tri-state residency which saw them play Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane every week for the month of April - a bold move which brought further attention to the band for its original idea. Riding on the wave of this tour, Schroeder, De Backer and Heath departed on their first overseas tour which saw them performing 26 shows around Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom. They also toured twice more up the East Coast, one of which was with popular Japanese band The Bawdies. Their song 'Rattle My Chain' was used in a series of commercials for Volvo Australia. The song 'Hey There!' featured in the British film ''The Bank Job'' - starring Jason Statham - and was used as the backing for a February 2007 short film directed by Tim Longhurst called The Rip. Their song 'Better' was featured in a surfing documentary about the invention of the shortboard in 1967.

In 2008, the band appeared on Australia's Channel 9 for Australia Day celebrations, performing two of their songs - 'Just Hold On' and 'Hey There!' - to an estimated audience of 2 million. Securing an Australian Government grant, they embarked on a two-month tour of Australia, specifically targeting "culturally underprivileged groups" in rural and regional schoolchildren and Indigenous communities. The programme had them holding masterclasses and performing alongside Indigenous groups in the remote Northern Territory and Queensland. Their initiative also had them raising money for the charity Lifeline, their contribution to which was recognised with a plaque at the end of the tour. Season two of ''Californication'' starring David Duchovny featured their cover of the classic 'Have Love, Will Travel', most famously covered by 'The Sonics'.

In 2009, The Basics for the first time enjoyed the support of Australian radio network Triple J, which had reportedly snubbed the band's previous material. The singles 'With This Ship' and 'Like A Brother' were added to the station's playlist, and momentum carried The Basics overseas for a second tour of the United Kingdom and Norway, and also a series of shows in Dublin, Ireland. They were joined by the longtime front-of-house engineer Stuart Padbury, who had been mixing them since 2005. The band was often seen in the Grafton Street Mall in Dublin, busking to promote their concerts there. Their second show in Oslo, Norway, saw the band perform with Hot Tub, one of the members of the Norwegian boy band "Boyzvoice", in his first performance for several years. Season Eight of ''Scrubs'' featured the song 'Lookin' Over My Shoulder'.

Despite all this promise, the band's album ''Keep Your Friends Close'' - produced and part-recorded by Peter Cobbin at London's Abbey Road Studios - though enjoying many favourable reviews, failed to impress Richard Kingsmill, music director of Triple J. This effectively ended the band's apparent upward spiral and the resulting album launch tour was reportedly "trying".

2010: Hiatus and live album [link]

In 2010, following the band's fourth stint at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the recording of a yet-unreleased live album, an indefinite hiatus was announced on the band's websites. This was in part due to the impending release of a new album produced by Wally for his Gotye project, and also to reported tensions within the band following the previous year's disappointments.

However, this hiatus was soon broken with a two-month residency at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, which saw an apparent return to form. The band's EP "Wait For You" enjoys airplay on Triple J. The Basics also played a one-off show at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory.

On 20 August 2010, The Basics released their fourth LP , available free and exclusively from their website for digital download. The band had reportedly moved to expand their listenership through this free giveaway, though 300 "Deluxe" CD/vinyl versions have been printed. was recorded at the Northcote Social Club on 6 February, "in front of a live studio audience", and like the previous record, was mixed by Peter Cobbin at Abbey Road Studios. Technically a self-titled album, the phonetics spell out the accurate pronunciation of the band’s name. Kris Schroeder: "For years we’ve worked at bringing our live energy into the studio and thus far it’s been a bit hit-and-miss. Our trick this time was to pull a switcheroo and bring the studio to us instead; the result is the best and closest to us we’ve sounded yet."

Melbourne thespian and Dog With Wheels bassist David Bramble - friends with Heath from university days - has occasionally joined the band on tour, playing keys, often while sporting a large moustache. Other guests have included Jake Mason (saxophone), also of Cookin' on 3 Burners and The Bamboos, Gideon Brazil (saxophone, flute), Simon Imrei (guitar and vocals) and Monty MacKenzie (saxophone).

Covers have often made an appearance from various sources: to date, some of the bands covered have been Cream, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, New Kids on the Block, Richard Berry, Sonny Curtis and The Crickets, JJ Cale, Harry Nilsson, Bill Scott, Ryan Adams and The Coasters (via The Beatles for their cover of Three Cool Cats).

Members [link]

;Current

Wally De Backer - drums, vocals (2002-present)

Kris Schroeder - bass, vocals (2002-present)

Tim Heath - guitar, vocals (2004-present)

;Former

Michael Hubbard - guitar, vocals (2002-2004)

Discography [link]

Albums[link]

Get Back (15 January 2004)

Stand Out/Fit In (5 May 2007)

Keep Your Friends Close (25 September 2009)

(20 August 2010)

EP[link]

For Girls Like You (11 July 2005)

Lookin' Over My Shoulder (10 February 2007)

Like A Brother (5 June 2009)

Wait For You (21 May 2010)

Singles[link]

Call It Rhythm & Blues (20 August 2004)

Just Hold On

With This Ship (22 February 2009)

Upcoming projects[link]

The band is taking a three year hiatus, with an announced return to the stage together in early 2014. Wally De Backer launched Making Mirrors under his Gotye act in August 2011, Tim Heath will be touring and recording with Blood Red Bird, and Kris Schroeder recorded a solo EP titled, Patience in the Face of Control, before leaving Australia to work with the Red Cross in Kenya for a two year sabbatical.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official Website

Myspace Website

Category:Victoria (Australia) musical groups

nl:The Basics