N T ROD The Dalai Lama shares Buddhist teachings of peace and
U CTION or centuries the Dalai Lama was the political ruler of Tibet as well as the leader of the main branch of Tibetan Buddhism He was also considered the god of compassion who came to Earth to help people The followers of Tibetan Buddhism believe in reincarnation which is the idea that after death a person s soul is born again in a new body They believe that each Dalai Lama is a rebirth of the first Dalai Lama who died in 1475 When a Dalai Lama dies Tibetan Buddhist leaders look for a child born Soon thereafter The child must pass many tests to prove that he is the reincarnated Dalai Lama The current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth Dalai Lama Driven into the mountains of India when China took control of Tibet in 1959 he is no longer a political leader However he remains a spiritual leader The Dalai Lama travels around the world to promote peace and speak about the Tibetans desire for political independence As a Buddhist teacher and promoter of peace and justice the Dalai Lama is a leader who is making a difference in the lives of many people around the
CHAPTER 1 HUMBLE BEGINNINGS EARLY TROUBLE enzin Gyatso whose birth a name was Lhamo E Thondup was RTA born on July 6 FEE 1935 in the village of Taktser in the northeastern A part of Tibet His parents were farmers as were many of the family s neighbors The family was living in the village of Amdo when PRAE a search party arrived searching for the next Young Lhamo Thondup is pictured here around the time he was declared to be the next Dalai Lama Dalai
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS EARLY TROUBLE QUICK FACT Tibetan Buddhist leaders use different ways to discover where the Dalai Lama will be reborn One method is to consult an oracle who is a holy person believed to get messages from a god An oracle directed searchers to the region of Amdo The young Lhamo Thondup was given several tests which included choosing special items that had belonged to the thirteenth Dalai Lama The young boy was identified as the fourteenth Dalai Lama in 1937 and given the spiritual name Tenzin Gyatso Tenzin and his family moved to Lhasa the Tibetan capital Before his fifth birthday he was officially given the title of Dalai Lama He was made a Buddhist monk and moved into Potala Palace where all Dalai Lamas live without his family There he received a good education which included spiritual
