Tibetan Buddhism :: Struggling With Difficult Issues

“Dalai Lama means different things to different people. To some it means that I am a living Buddha, the earthly manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion. To others it means that I am a ‘god-king’. During the late 1950s it meant I was a Vice-President of the Steering Committee of the People’s Republic of China. Then when I escaped into exile, I was called a counter-revolutionary and a parasite. But none of these are my ideas. To me ‘Dalai Lama’ is a title that signifies the office I hold. I myself am just a human being, and incidentally a Tibetan, who chooses to be a Buddhist monk.” (Freedom in Exile: Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Dalai Lama XIV)*

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama is one of the most remarkable men I have ever met. Never have I been exposed to anyone who is such a perfect synthesis of theory and practice, whose words so perfectly translate into deeds.” (Cabezón, José Ignacio (1992). A Dose of Emptiness)

Three articles from the Time Magazine I can strongly recommend:

• A Monk’s Struggle
• Tackling Tibet
• The Dalai Lama’s Dilemma

Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (1893 – 1959)

Wondrous and without equal in the three worlds,
Omniscient and as unique as the udumbara flower,
Great crown jewel for the teachings and all beings on earth:
Supreme victorious one, Holder of the Lotus—I pray for your long life!

Inspiring Books about HH the Dalai Lama:

• The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer
• The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History, Serinda Publications, Edited by Martin Brauen
• Freedom in Exile: Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Dalai Lama XIV*
• Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation by Glenn H. Mullin

In the land encircled by snow mountains
You are the source of all happiness and well-being;
Powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso,
Please remain until the end of cyclic existence.

BBC about the Dalai Lama

• Profile: The Dalai Lama
• The Dalai Lama
• Audio slideshow: Dalai Lama’s flight into exile

Biography by Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel Foundation]

• His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

Biography of the Dalai Lamas

• The Dalai Lama – by the Office of H.H. the XIV. Dalai Lama

* recommended by Paul Williams in Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements (edited by Clarke, Routledge, 2005), p. 137