Dalaï Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and formerly the
ruler of the country. The Dalaï Lama is believed to be a reincarnation of the Buddha.
When he dies, his soul is thought to enter the body of a newborn boy, who, after being
identified by traditional tests, becomes the new Dalaï Lama.
The first to bear the title of Dalaï Lama was Sonam Gyatso, grand lama of the Drepung
monastery and leader of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect, who received it in 1578 from the
Mongol chief Altan Khan; it was then applied retroactively to the previous leaders of the
sect. In 1642 another Mongol chief, Gushri Khan, installed the fifth Dalaï Lama (1617-82)
as Tibet's spiritual and temporal ruler. His successors governed Tibet—first as
tributaries of the Mongols, but from 1720 to 1911 as vassals of the emperor of China.
When the Chinese Communists occupied Tibet in 1950, they came into increasing conflict
with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalaï Lama. He left the country after an unsuccessful
rebellion in 1959 and thereafter lived in India. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989
for leading the nonviolent opposition to continued Chinese rule in Tibet.
"Dalaï Lama," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
Other Links of interest
Dalaï Lama.com - Site dedicated to the Dalaï Lama
14th Dalaï Lama of Tibet. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech - Oslo, Norway, 1989
