दलाई लामा The Dalai Lama

Life and career

  1. 1935 · Born in Taktser. Born Lhamo Thondup on 6 July 1935 in Taktser in Amdo. His parents were farmers. At two a search party led by Kewtsang Rinpoche found him. He picked out objects that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama)
  2. 1940 · Enthroned in Lhasa. He was enthroned in Lhasa on 22 February 1940. He moved into the Potala Palace that winter. His studies followed the Nalanda tradition with Buddhist philosophy at the centre. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama)
  3. 1950 · Head of state at 15. He took full temporal power on 17 November 1950 at 15. Chinese forces had already defeated Tibetan troops in Kham. In 1951 a Tibetan delegation signed the Seventeen Point Agreement in Beijing. Britannica says it was signed under duress. Beijing holds that Tibet is part of China. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama · Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama)
  4. 1954 · A year in China. He toured China from July 1954 to June 1955. He met Mao Zedong and other leaders. He was named a vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama)
  5. 1956 · Buddha Jayanti in India. He visited India from November 1956 to March 1957 for the 2500th Buddha Jayanti. He asked Jawaharlal Nehru for asylum. Nehru discouraged it and he returned to Lhasa. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama)
  6. 1959 · Escape to India. On 17 March 1959 he left Lhasa disguised as a soldier. He reached the Indian border on 31 March. On 29 April he set up the Tibetan government in exile in Mussoorie. He had passed his final monastic examinations weeks before. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama · Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama)
  7. 1960 · Dharamsala. In 1960 he moved to Dharamsala with about 80 officials of the Central Tibetan Administration. In 1963 he promulgated a democratic constitution for Tibetans in exile. In 1970 he opened the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama)
  8. 1987 · Peace plan and Mind and Life. In Washington in 1987 he proposed a five-point plan that included a zone of peace in Tibet. In October 1987 six scientists met him for a week in Dharamsala. This was the first Mind and Life dialogue. (Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama · Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama · Wikipedia: Mind & Life Institute)
  9. 1988 · The Strasbourg proposal. On 15 June 1988 he addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He proposed genuine self-rule for Tibet in association with the People’s Republic of China. His office says Beijing did not respond positively. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Address to the European Parliament, Strasbourg (1988) · Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Middle-Way Approach · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama)
  10. 1989 · Nobel Peace Prize. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Freedom in Exile, his second autobiography, followed in 1990. The Art of Happiness with psychiatrist Howard Cutler appeared in 1998. (Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama · Kirkus Reviews: Freedom in Exile (1990) · Wikipedia: The Art of Happiness)
  11. 2011 · Handing over political power. In March 2011 he told the exile parliament it was time to devolve his formal authority to an elected leadership. Lobsang Sangay was elected in April. Parliament amended the charter in May. In September he said he would decide around 90 whether the institution should continue. (TheJournal.ie: Dalai Lama formally gives up his political role (31 May 2011) · Wikipedia: 14th Dalai Lama · Lion’s Roar: Dalai Lama affirms that the institution will continue (2 July 2025))
  12. 2012 · Templeton Prize. He received the Templeton Prize in London in May 2012. He gave $1.5 million to Save the Children in India. He gave $200,000 to the Mind and Life Institute and about $75,000 to teach modern science to monks. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Templeton Prize money (14 May 2012) · Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama)
  13. 2025 · Ninety and the succession statement. In March Voice for the Voiceless said the next Dalai Lama would be born in the free world. On 2 July he affirmed that the institution will continue. On 6 July thousands gathered in Dharamsala for his 90th birthday. He spent August in Ladakh and returned on 3 September. (RFA: Dalai Lama says his successor will be born in the ‘free world’ (12 March 2025) · Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Statement affirming the continuation of the institution of Dalai Lama (2 July 2025) · THE WEEK: Dalai Lama rings in 90th birthday (6 July 2025) · Office of Tibet: Dalai Lama returns to Dharamshala after Ladakh sojourn (3 September 2025))
  14. 2026 · A Grammy and a second summer in Leh. On 1 February he won a Grammy for the audiobook Meditations. China objected. On 27 May he attended Penpa Tsering’s swearing-in for a second term as Sikyong. He reached Leh on 28 June. About 25,000 people marked his 91st birthday there on 6 July. (ThePrint: Dalai Lama wins Grammy for audiobook Meditations (2 February 2026) · CP24 / AP: China criticizes decision to award a Grammy to the Dalai Lama (2 February 2026) · AP via WSLS: Penpa Tsering sworn in for a second term (27 May 2026) · Telangana Today: Dalai Lama arrives in Ladakh for two-month summer visit (28 June 2026) · Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Celebrating the 91st birthday (6 July 2026))

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