The Dalai Lama's Role In Modern History

The 14th Dalai Lama is perhaps one of the most interesting and significant public figures of the modern era. His struggle to maintain the culture, identity, and religion of the Tibetan people are renowned. The Dalai Lama’s peaceful manner and joyful approach to life is inspiring, despite the fact that he has lived most of his adult life as “a stateless refugee in India” (Beyond Religion, 2011). The Dalai Lama’s life path is endlessly uplifting as a humanitarian example and his role in modern history is difficult to overestimate.

The Dalai Lama was born in 1935 to a family of poor farmers in Taktser, a small village in the Amdo province (From Birth to Exile, n.d.) of what was then known as Tibet. These humble beginnings contrasted starkly with the new life into which he was thrust into when he was declared to be the “new incarnation of the Dalai Lama” when he was not quite three years old (From Birth to Exile, n.d.). In 1959, he had to flee to India because of the Tibetan uprising; there he denounced the People’s Republic of China and established a Tibetan government while in exile. Since that time he has traveled around the world
According to the Dalai Lama’s web page, “he frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of inter-religious harmony and the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture and religion”(dalailama.com, n.d.). In his book, The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama lays out his blueprint for achieving happiness through training the mind. He often emphasizes how important compassion is as a source of a happy life for every human being. The Dalai Lama has always been the incarnation and conductor of his ideas into the world and many people have changed their lives with the help of his