The Dalai Lama is the greatest exponent of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and is among the most prestigious religious figures in the world, also from a political point of view. The term Dalai Lama derives from Lamawhich in Tibetan means “spiritual master” and Dalai (word of Mongolian origin) meaning “ocean”. Dalai Lama could therefore be translated as “ocean master”The current Dalai Lama (the 14th in history) has taken the name of Tenzin Gyatsois 89 years old and is in exile in India since 1959 (so from 65 years), year in which the People’s Republic of China has busy in a stable manner the Tibet and forced him to flee from the Potala Palace, his main residence in Lhasa, to Dharamsala.
When and how the figure of the Dalai Lama was born
The origin of the Dalai Lama dates back to the 14th century: the first Dalai Lama of Tibet is considered Gendun Drup (1391-1474), a Buddhist monk who was a disciple of the Tibetan Buddhist master Tsongkhapa: the latter in fact founded a new school called gelugpa (of the virtuous) also nicknamed “of the yellow caps”, from the color of the headdress that the monks wore. The close relationship between some Mongolian tribal leaders and the new school gelugpa favored the development of the Tibetan Buddhism also in Mongolia. And he was in fact a leader of Mongolian origin, Altan Khan, who had received spiritual protection for the supremacy over some tribes of Mongolia, which in 1578 he first gave the title of Dalai Lama to a student of Tsongkhapa, Sonam Gyatso.
Who is the current Dalai Lama and why is he in exile in India?
The current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatsois 89 years old and is the The 14th Dalai Lama. The name Tenzin Gyatso means “ocean of wisdom” and it is the name with which he was renamed during the coronation ceremony in 1939 In the Potala Palace, Lhasa: main residence of the Dalai Lama, now converted into a museum.
Actually his real name is Lhamo Dondrub: born in 1935 in a small Tibetan village called Taktserin the Amdo region of north-eastern Tibet on the border with China. Tenzin Gyatso’s appointment as political leader as the XIV Dalai Lama took place in 1950, just when there was theannexation of Tibet to the territory of the People’s Republic of China after Mao’s communist revolution.
Tibetan popular resistance refused to accept the annexation and this resulted in protests and rebellions which lasted until the 1959: in March of the same year during some protests that broke out in Lhasa, the capital, the Dalai Lama he was forced to leave the Potala Palace and take refuge in India, in Dharamsalawhere it is still today in exile. In 1989 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance in the struggle for the liberation of Tibet from Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama has in fact become an important symbol at an international level for his philosophy inspired by peaceful solutions, non-violent practices, “universal” tolerance even in dealing with conflicts and controversies at an international level, such as environmental issues or struggles for human rights.
How are the Dalai Lamas chosen?
Upon the death of a Dalai Lama, some monks identify his successor – usually still child – in the one who, after the death of the previous Dalai Lama, he is able to recognize some objects that had belonged to him. According to Buddhist tradition, in fact, the successor was able to recognize some elements of the master’s soul.
Therefore, some evidence is needed and some signs must be interpreted before the child heir to the Dalai Lama is found. Among these is the Visit to Lake Lhamo Latsoa lake located in Gyaca County, considered sacred by the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama. The lake is also called “lake of visions” since its waters would provide visions of the future and therefore also on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
What will happen when the Dalai Lama dies: succession is (also) a geopolitical issue
The appointment of the Dalai Lama, in addition to a question religioushas today more than ever become a geopolitical question and, in particular, a cause for tension between China and India, where the Dalai Lama is currently in exile. In 2011 China’s foreign minister has announced that the election of the next Dalai Lama will likely take place on Beijing government’s choice and not according to the traditional procedure of the Buddhist religion: the China in fact does not recognize the Dalai Lama as the political leader of Tibet. Following this, the Dalai Lama has elaborated various possibilities on the procedure for appointing his successor: one of these is that he could choose his reincarnation himself before dying and thus appoint his spiritual heir while he is still alive.
In case he is unable to return to Tibet before his death, his reincarnation will take place outside the country, in this case in India. And in fact, in 2023an 8-year-old boy of Mongolian origin but born in the United States, has been named the tenth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampathe third highest office of Tibetan Buddhism. This appointment has become a source of controversy with the Chinese government which has not recognized it. However, around the ninety years and therefore probably in 2025, the Dalai Lama has declared that he will consult with the most important Lamas of the tradition Buddhist Tibetan and with the Tibetan people to evaluate if to continue to keep alive, even after his death, the figure of the Dalai Lama.
