Dalai Lama

Dalai is Mongolian for “ocean” and lama is the Tibetan word for “superior,” especially referring to those of superior spiritual attainment. Together the two terms constitute the title conferred upon the head monk of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 15th century, the Gelug order has followed a system in which, upon the death of each Dalai Lama, his successor has been located while still a young child by a special council of monks. The council recognizes the child to be the new incarnation of Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion. Tenzin Gyatso was revealed to be the 14th Dalai Lama in 1935, at age 2. In 1959 he fled Chinese-occupied Tibet for India. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his tireless work spreading a message of compassion and non-violence.