The Holiness of Dalai Lama - Research Paper Example

Dalai Lama ID: Information: Contents Introduction 3 Body of the Paper 3 Early Life 3 Education in Tibet 4 Leadership through Buddhist Teachings 4 Leadership through Democratization Process 5 Leadership through Peace Initiatives 6 Leadership Conflicts with China 6 Leadership Lessons from the Dalai Lama 7 Universal Recognition 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction Dalai Lama is one of the famous names of the world and well known political leader in Tibet who has strived to make Tibet a democratic and independent state from China. He is a teacher or mentor of the Gelug School. His name is the amalgamation of Mongolic word and here ‘Dalai’ means Ocean and ‘Lama’ means “Guru, mentor or teacher”. So the full meaning stands ‘Ocean of Wisdom’. He is the very famous and highest knowledgeable lama in Gelug School which was established by Tsongkhapa. Dalai Lama is also famous as a religious leader in Tibet. He always said that he is concerned about those problems which are created by human being like corruption than the natural disaster. About India he said that he was not satisfied with the present condition of India because though there is less violence but also there is too much corruption and exploitation. Dalai Lama directed Tibetan Government for certain periods between the 17th century and 1962. As per his view the institution of Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future. He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1989. Dalai Lama is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for the people of Tibet. He was selected at the age of 15 as the rebirth of 13th Dalai Lama and formally known as fourteenth Dalai Lama from the year 1950. The name of the fourteenth Dalai Lama name is Tenzin Gyatso remained the head of the state for the Central Tibetan Administration [Tibetan government in exile] until his retirement in 2011[March 14]. Body of the Paper Early Life Tenzin Gyatso was born in the year 1935 [July, 6] in a small village of Taktser in northeastern Tibet. He was belonging to a Tibetan farming family. When he was at the age of three then his life was changed forever. He was identified by a search party of Buddhist officials. After that he was separated from his parents. He was transferred to a monastery for study where his elder brother was already studying in the same place and it reduced his pain of separation from his mother. In 1940 he was officially introduced as the spiritual leader of Tibet. His new name was assumed and that is Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. In November 1950, when he was only the age of 15, he was introduced as Tibet’s temporal leader in a ceremony in Lhasa. After that he spent most of the next decade trying to avoid a full-scale military takeover of Tibet by Chinese forces. Education in Tibet The holiness of Dalai Lama began from his monastic education at the age of six. Five major and five minor subjects were included in the curriculum of study. Those subjects are Sanskrit, Tibetan art and culture, logic, Buddhist physiology, medicine etc. Apart from that drama, astrology, music, poetry etc were included in the 5 minor subject category. He graduated with honors degree and was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree. This degree is the highest-level degree, and it is equivalent to a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy (Mehrotra, 2006). Leadership through Buddhist Teachings Buddhism was created with the birth of Gautama Buddha. It is one of the oldest regions practiced today. This religion came to Tibet in 8th century. Dalai Lama also promoted about this religion and also describes that the religion is based on four basic truths. Those are: a) Life is not perfect, people are unsatisfied by trying to make the life to be a perfect one, people can realize that there is a better way to achieve fulfillment and by living one’s life through ethical conduct, wisdom and mental discipline people will reach the level of enlightenment. The Buddhist belief of rebirth is a concept. Dalai Lama believed that life is a continual journey of discovery and experience and not divided between life and the afterlife. Leadership through Democratization Process In 1963, he presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet. This was followed by a number of reforms to democratize the Tibetan administrative set-up. The new democratic constitution spread as a result of this reform. The name of this reform was "The Charter of Tibetans in Exile". The charter describes freedom of speech, movement, assembly and belief. It also provides detailed guidelines on the functions of the Tibetan Administration with respect to those living in exile. In 1992, the Central Tibetan Administration issued some guidelines which are very much useful and important for the constitution of a free and peaceful Tibet in near future. These guidelines give an outline that when Tibet will be free than the immediate task will be to form an interim government. The first responsibility of the Government will be to elect a constitutional assembly which will help to frame and adopt Tibets democratic constitution. Dalai Lama also hoped that Tibet [after comprising of the three traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham would be federal and democratic. In 1990, the reform saw the realization of truly democratic administration in exile for the community of Tibetan. The Tibetan Cabinet was dissolved along with the 10th Assembly of the Tibetan Peoples Deputies. In the same year, exile Tibetans who are residing on the Indian continent elected 46 members to the expanded 11th Tibetan Assembly on a man to man vote basis (Jinpa, 2010). The Assembly elected the new members of the cabinet. In the year 2001 [September] a further major step in democratization was taken when the Tibetan constituted directly by electing Kalon Tripa. He was the senior most minister of the cabinet. He was appointed in his own cabinet that had to be approved by the assembly of Tibetan. In the long history of Tibet, this was the 1st time that the people selected the political leader of the country. After this direct election, the system of the institution of Gaden Phodrang of the Dalai Lama [as both the spiritual and temporal authority] ended. Leadership through Peace Initiatives In the year 1987, he proposed a five point peace plan for Tibet in his speech to the members of the US Congress in Washington. It was his 1st step towards a peaceful solution to the worst situation in Tibet. The peace plan contained: Respect for the people of Tibet, their democratic freedom and fundamental human rights. Transform the whole country into a zone of peace. Commencement of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese people and also the commencement of negotiation on the future status of Tibet. Protection of the natural environment of Tibet and abandonment of Chinas use of Tibet for the dumping of nuclear waste and the production of nuclear weapons. Desertion of Chinas population transfer policy which also become as a threat on the existence of the Tibetans as a human being. In the year 1988, the holiness of Dalai Lama made another detailed proposal in an address to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He gave the proposal between the Chinese and Tibetans who will lead to a self-governing democratic political entity for all three provinces of Tibet. This entity would be in association with the Peoples Republic of China. Chinese Government would be responsible for Tibets defense and foreign policy (Lama and Cutler, 2011). Leadership Conflicts with China Dalai Lama has taken numerous steps to establish an autonomous Tibetan state within People’s Republic of China. His hope directed him to issue a draft constitution for Tibet. That draft constitution contained a number of reforms. These reforms helped to democratize the Government. This was called ‘Charter of Tibetans in Exile.’ It provides detailed guidelines for Tibetans living in exile; grants freedom of speech, assembly, belief and movement. During the 1960s, the Central Intelligence Agency trained and funded Tibetan forces to resist the Chinese occupation and capture with the Dalai Lamas full support and his knowledge. Thousands of lives were lost in the resistance and the program was failure. Now this is considered merely a cold war tactic on the part of US to challenge the legitimacy of the Government of China in the region. After that in 1987 Dalai Lama proposed the five point peace plan to end the volatile situation in China. It was his 1st step to reconcile Chinese Government and to give a peaceful solution to the nation. There was a proposal in that plan that the Tibet would become a sanctuary where enlightened people can exist and live in peace and the environment can be preserved (Madsen, 2010). In the year 1988, Dalai Lama addressed the members of the European Parliament in France and there he proposed talks between the Tibetans and Chinese that would lead to a self governing political democratic entity for Tibet. But in 1991, the Tibetan government-in-exile declared the proposal invalid because of the current Chinese leadership showed negative attitude towards this particular proposal (Fuchs, 2011). Leadership Lessons from the Dalai Lama Being the exiled, spiritual leader of Tibet he knows the importance of collaboration, productivity and performance. In 1950 he became the full political leader after Chinas invasion of Tibet in 1949-1950. He became as a political power over there. In 1954, he went to Beijing for conversation with Chinese leaders. His topic of conversation was peace. But in 1959, he was forced to escape into exile. Since then Dalai Lama has been living in a Dharamshala in northern India (Burns, 2012). The Central Tibetan Administration led by His Holiness and he appealed to the United Nation on the question of peace in Tibet. His leadership qualities are as follows: Train your mind- He describes how to train the mind. Untrained minds will always excited and unable to concentrate like a monkey on a tree. Buddhists are always doing such kind of activities like meditation so that their minds will be well trained for proper concentration. Dalai Lama describes that a peaceful, well trained mind is necessary for increasing quality of thought and decreasing irrational impulses. As per his view a leader always has to recognize when negative emotions like impatience, frustration, lack of self confidence, anger, greed, jealousy etc are start to influence the thought process. Focus on happiness- According to him happiness is the highest form of motivation and it is the universal form. People are same and equal in their basic wishes despite there are so many difference among us. These basic wishes are peace and happiness. But happiness is not the trade for making money. Become interconnected- He believes in interconnectivity. Through this idea people can truly exist in relation with other people. Interconnection will create a chain for creative productivity. It impulses anything from a conversation to a presentation to a policy. It triggers the ideas and helps to keep contact with the people of nation. Stay Positive- Dalai Lama always encourages his followers to stay positive. As per his view every problem has a solution so we have to maintain a right attitude from the beginning which may help to find out the right way in the time of crisis. He gave his own example always that despite losing country and everything he was very happy person. He tweeted that treat any situation with full of potentiality in the world and appreciate these situations as a rare case, take joy in it and use it as the best advantage (Northouse, 2012). Universal Recognition Dalai Lama is famous as a man of peace. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his non violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet in 1989. He has consistently promoted and advocated policies of non violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He is also recognized for his concern for global environment problems. For this reason he became the first Nobel Laureate. His Holiness has spread on more than 67 countries spanning 6 continents. He has received more than 150 awards, prizes, honorary doctorates etc. His all messages were related to peace, non-violence, compassion, universal responsibilities and inter-religious understanding (Mehrotra, 2009). He has authored and co-authored more than 110 books (Zajonc, 2004). His Holiness was participated in many events which were formed for promoting inter-religious harmony and understanding. He has held dialogues with heads of different religions. His Holiness has begun a dialogue with modern scientists, mainly in the fields of neurobiology, quantum physics, cosmology and psychology. His Holiness always led a historic collaboration between world renowned scientists and Buddhist monks in trying to help individuals for getting and achieving peace of mind. His Holiness has spoken strongly about the respect and better understanding among the different faiths of the world (Lama, 2011). Conclusion A the part of conclusion this can be stated that the Holiness of Dalai Lama brought a new era in Tibet and he became an example of peace and democracy towards the nation. His leadership motivated many people who believe in democracy and want to live a peaceful life. His Holiness has travelled 62 countries spanning 6 continents. This can be stated that no country is an exception of bloodshed and tragic stories of death in the present days. Every day media reports about the incident of crime, terrorism and aggression. In this context Dalai Lama, who has implemented the zone of peace will play an important role for bringing a stable and peaceful life for people. He is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was extremely anxious to prevent violence in Tibet. He attempted peaceful co-existence with the Chinese leadership for nine long years. In the absence of a positive response from Beijing, the Dalai Lama was forced to leave Tibet in the year 1959 [on the night of 17th March], to seek place for staying in India. After that Dalai Lama directed the Tibetan Government-in-Exile from Dharamshala, its temporary headquarters in northern part of India. He is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He spent the major span of his life for benefiting humanity. He was committed in the tradition of Bodhisattva. Dalai Lama has met with many Western leaders and has visited the United States, Europe, Russia, Latin America, many countries in Asia and so many other countries in the world on a number of occasions. He tried to built a world connected relationship and promote the speech of peace. He has written so many books being author or co-author and conducted more than hundreds of conferences, lectures and workshops at major institutions and universities throughout the world. He was well known as an effective public speaker. He is often described as charismatic. His message was always related to peace and harmony and he gave his message for people all over the world. References Burns, J. (2012). Leadership. New York: Open Road Media. Fuchs, A. (2011). Paying a visit: The Dalai Lama Effect on international trade. Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. Vol.5(3). Jinpa, T. (2010). Buddhism And Science: How Far Can The Dialogue Proceed? Journal of Religion & Science. Vol.15(4). Lama, D. (2011). Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Lama, D. and Cutler, H. (2011). The Art of Happiness - 10th Anniversary Edition. London: Hachette UK. Madsen, R. (2010). The Upsurge of Religion in China. Journal of Democracy. Vol.3(2). Mehrotra, R. (2009). Understanding the Dalai Lama. California: Hay House, Inc. Mehrotra. R. (2006). The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings. London: Penguin. Northouse, P. (2012). Leadership: Theory and Practice. New Delhi: SAGE Publications. Zajonc, A. (2004). The New Physics and Cosmology : Dialogues with the Dalai Lama: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More