Age, Biography, and Wiki
The 14th Dalai Lama, born Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935, in Taktser, Amdo, Tibet, is recognized as the 14th incarnation of the first Dalai Lama. He is the spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and has been living in exile in India since 1959. His life has been marked by significant political and spiritual responsibilities, including assuming full political duties in Tibet at the age of 15 and receiving numerous international honors such as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
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| Date of Birth | 6 July 1935 |
| Age | 90 Years |
| Birth Place | Taktser, Amdo |
| Horoscope | Cancer |
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Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited information available about the Dalai Lama's physical measurements such as height and weight. His focus on spiritual and humanitarian work has overshadowed such personal details.
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Dating & Relationship Status
The Dalai Lama, as a monk, has vowed to remain celibate and therefore does not have a romantic partner or family in the traditional sense.
The Dalai Lama travels worldwide to give Tibetan Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism teachings, and his Kalachakra teachings and initiations are international events. He also attends conferences on a wide range of subjects, including the relationship between religion and science, meets with other world leaders, religious leaders, philosophers, and scientists, online and in-person. His work includes focus on the environment, economics, women's rights, nonviolence, interfaith dialogue, physics, astronomy, Buddhism and science, cognitive neuroscience, reproductive health and sexuality. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Time magazine named the Dalai Lama Gandhi's spiritual heir to nonviolence. The 12th General Assembly of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace in New Delhi unanimously recognized the Dalai Lama's contributions to global peace, his lifelong efforts in uniting Buddhist communities worldwide, and bestowed upon him the title of "Universal Supreme Leader of the Buddhist World"; they also designated 6 July, his birthday, as the Universal Day of Compassion.
He was one of seven siblings to survive childhood and one of the three supposed reincarnated Rinpoches in the same family. His eldest sister Tsering Dolma, was 16 years his senior and was midwife to his mother at his birth. She would accompany him into exile and found Tibetan Children's Villages. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, had been recognised at the age of three by the 13th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the high Lama, the 6th Taktser Rinpoche. His fifth brother, Tendzin Choegyal, had been recognised as the 16th Ngari Rinpoche. His sister, Jetsun Pema, spent most of her adult life on the Tibetan Children's Villages project. The Dalai Lama has said that his first language was "a broken Xining language which was (a dialect of) the Chinese language," a form of Central Plains Mandarin, and his family speaks neither Amdo Tibetan nor Lhasa Tibetan.
The 14th Dalai Lama claims that at the time, the village of Taktser stood right on the "real border" between the region of Amdo and China. According to the search lore, when the team visited, posing as pilgrims, its leader, a Sera Lama, pretended to be the servant and sat separately in the kitchen. He held an old mala that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama, and the boy Lhamo Dhondup, aged two, approached and asked for it. The monk said "if you know who I am, you can have it." The child said "Sera Lama, Sera Lama" and spoke with him in a Lhasa accent, in a dialect the boy's mother could not understand. The next time the party returned to the house, they revealed their real purpose and asked permission to subject the boy to certain tests. One test consisted of showing him various pairs of objects, one of which had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama and one which had not. In every case, he chose the Dalai Lama's own objects and rejected the others.
"Mao Zedong who, 'according to the Tibetan leader, treated him as a 'father would treat a son,'' 'also showed Tibet’s political leader and its foremost spiritual master its ambivalence to Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama recounts this episode in his autobiography, My Land and My People,
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Net Worth and Salary
The Dalai Lama's net worth is a subject of varying estimates. Some sources suggest that his net worth is around $150 million, attributed to earnings from speaking engagements, book sales, and royalties from his autobiography "Freedom in Exile" and other media appearances. However, other sources align with his monkhood philosophy, suggesting his net worth is as low as $1, reflecting his renunciation of worldly possessions.
From 1936 the Hui "Ma clique" Muslim warlord Ma Bufang ruled Qinghai as its governor under the nominal authority of the Republic of China central government. According to an interview with the 14th Dalai Lama, in the 1930s, Ma Bufang had seized this north-east corner of Amdo in the name of Chiang Kai-shek's weak government and incorporated it into the Chinese province of Qinghai. Before going to Taktser, Kewtsang had gone to Ma Bufang to pay his respects. When Ma Bufang heard a candidate had been found in Taktser, he had the family brought to him in Xining. He first demanded proof that the boy was the Dalai Lama, but the Lhasa government, though informed by Kewtsang that this was the one, told Kewtsang to say he had to go to Lhasa for further tests with other candidates. They knew that if he was declared to be the Dalai Lama, the Chinese government would insist on sending a large army escort with him, which would then stay in Lhasa and refuse to budge.
Career, Business, and Investments
The Dalai Lama's career is marked by his spiritual leadership and humanitarian work rather than business or financial investments. He has authored numerous books and received various awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the US Congressional Gold Medal in 2006. His influence extends beyond his religious role, as he has been a global advocate for peace, non-violence, and environmental issues.
Afterwards in 1939, at the age of four, the Dalai Lama was taken in a procession of lamas to Lhasa. Former British officials stationed in India and Tibet recalled that envoys from Britain and China were present at the Dalai Lama's enthronement in February 1940. According to Basil Gould, the Chinese representative Wu Chunghsin was reportedly unhappy about the position he had during the ceremony. Afterward an article appeared in the Chinese press falsely claiming that Wu personally announced the installation of the Dalai Lama, who supposedly prostrated himself to Wu in gratitude. After his enthronement, the Dalai Lama's childhood was then spent between the Potala Palace and Norbulingka, his summer residence, both of which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Social Network
While the Dalai Lama does not personally engage with social media, his teachings and messages are widely disseminated through official channels and followers around the world.
The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served as the resident spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet before 1959 and subsequently led the Tibetan government in exile represented by the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India. A belief central to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition as well as the institution of the Dalai Lama is that he is a living Bodhisattva, specifically an emanation of Avalokiteśvara (in Sanskrit) or Chenrezig (in Tibetan), the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The Mongolic word dalai means ocean. He is also known to Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche ("The Precious Jewel-like Buddha-Master"), Kundun ("The Presence"), and Yizhin Norbu ("The Wish-Fulfilling Gem"). His devotees, as well as much of the Western world, often call him His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is the leader and a monk of the newest Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The 19-year-old Dalai Lama toured China for almost a year from 1954 to 1955, meeting many of the revolutionary leaders and the top echelon of the Chinese communist leadership who created modern China. He learned Chinese and socialist ideals, as explained by his Chinese hosts, on a tour of China showcasing the benefits of socialism and the effective governance provided to turn the large, impoverished nation into a modern and egalitarian society, which impressed him. In September 1954, he went to the Chinese capital to meet Chairman Mao Zedong with the 10th Panchen Lama and attend the first session of the National People's Congress as a delegate, primarily discussing China's constitution. On 27 September 1954, the Dalai Lama was selected as a Vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a post he officially held until 1964.
Education
The Dalai Lama received his education in traditional Tibetan Buddhist studies. He studied at the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, and received his Geshe degree, the highest level of scholastic achievement in Tibetan Buddhism.
In summary, the Dalai Lama's life and career are a testament to the power of spiritual and humanitarian work, overshadowing material wealth and financial success. His influence continues to inspire and guide people globally, transcending the boundaries of wealth and material possessions.
In 1959, at the age of 23, he took his final examination at Lhasa's Jokhang Temple during the annual Monlam Prayer Festival. He passed with honours and was awarded the Lharampa degree, the highest-level geshe degree, roughly equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy.
The comments Mao made during their last meeting shocked the Dalai Lama beyond belief. 'My final interview with this remarkable man was toward the end of my visit to China. I was at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly when I received a message asking me to go to see him at this house. By then, I had been able to complete a tour of the Chinese provinces, and I was able to tell him truthfully that I had been greatly impressed and interested by all the development projects I had seen. Then he started to give me a long lecture about the true form of democracy, and advised me how to become a leader of the people and how to take heed of their suggestions. And then he edged closer to me on his chair
