Thirty four years ago, coinciding with the Human Rights Day, on 10th December 1989, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize to a Tibetan refugee, Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since 1959.
The Tibetan Community in Britain has planned an amazing cultural programme, speakers and entertainment to make this event a memorable one. Please join this celebration on Saturday, 9th December from 4pm to 11pm in south-east London at the Asian Community Centre, White Hart Road, London SE18 1DG.
Ever since the illegal occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China, the Tibetan Spiritual and Temporal Leader pursued a nonviolent campaign to end China’s rule in Tibet as well as to secure justice for the Tibetan people. A Buddhist Advocate for Peace and Freedom finally got this much deserved recognition from the international community. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize to the 14th Dalai Lama on 10 December 1989 in Oslo, Norway.
Ever since, the Tibetan communities worldwide have been marking this anniversary to reflect on the contributions by their leader not only to the Tibetan freedom struggle and cultural preservation, but to the greater good of humanity at large.
For the people of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the manifestation of Chenrezig, or Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Successive Dalai Lamas have held spiritual and temporal power over the Tibetan Buddhist Kingdom for 400 years.
Buddhists from the Himalayan belt and beyond revere the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader and share solid karmic bonds. To others, the Dalai Lama is an inspiration and is regarded as a leading moral authority worldwide.
This first major international recognition presented an excellent opportunity for Tibetans to reignite the China-Tibet conflict as an unresolved political issue that required global attention and continued support.
For the next two decades or so, the Dalai Lama travelled extensively throughout the world – reaching out to political leaders, heads of States, parliamentarians, policymakers, religious leaders, media organisations, universities, scholars, writers, celebrities, activists and many more to garner political and practical support for Tibet and the Tibetan people.
At the same time, the Tibetan Nobel Peace laureate reached out to leaders in Beijing for a mutually acceptable outcome to bring about a lasting peace and security for the Tibetan and the Chinese people through a negotiated settlement.
“Government-in-Exile” and Tibetan Democracy
In exile, the Dalai Lama established Tibet’s “Government-in-Exile” – officially known as the “Central Tibetan Administration”. The Dalai Lama continued to promote the democratic reforms for his people, which he had sought to implement in Tibet before being forced to flee in 1959.
Based in Dharamsala, northern India, the Central Tibetan Administration continues to carry out its mission of securing political freedom for Tibetans in Tibet while taking care of its refugee community.
During an early public gathering in February 1960 in Bodh Gaya, where the Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment, the Dalai Lama advised the exiled Tibetans to set up an elected body.
The Commission of Tibetan People’s Deputies (CTPD) took its first oath on 2nd September 1960. Since then, this historical date has been observed by the Tibetan diaspora as Mang-tso Dus-chen — Tibetan Democracy Day.
The final stage of this democratisation process was achieved when the Dalai Lama voluntarily relinquished his remaining political authority to the elected Tibetan leadership in 2011 after a young Tibetan legal scholar from Harvard University, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, had secured a landslide victory in the general election. Dr Sangay held the highest Office of Sikyong (formerly Kalon Tripa) for two consecutive terms until 2021. Sikyong Penpa Tsering is the current President of the Central Tibetan Administration.
Full retirement from the Tibetan political leadership meant the Dalai Lama reduced his international travels and political engagements with world leaders. At 88, the Dalai Lama remains very healthy and joyful as always, and above all, His Holiness continues to deal with a busy daily schedule of public and private engagements.
His Holiness Dalai Lama’s Four Principal Commitments
As we celebrate the contributions of a great moral leader and the most principled human being in the world, it is a good time to reflect on the Dalai Lama’s Four Principal Commitments.
- Firstly, as a human being, His Holiness is concerned with encouraging people to be happy – helping them understand that if their minds are upset mere physical comfort will not bring them peace, but if their minds are at peace even physical pain will not disturb their calm. He advocates the cultivation of warm-heartedness and human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline. He says that as human beings we are all the same. We all want happiness and do not want suffering. Even people who have no religious belief can benefit if they incorporate these human values into their lives. His Holiness refers to such human values as secular ethics or universal values. He is committed to talking about the importance of such values and sharing them with everyone he meets.
- Secondly, as a Buddhist monk, His Holiness is committed to encouraging harmony among the world’s religious traditions. Despite philosophical differences between them, all major world religions have the same potential to create good human beings. It is therefore important for all religious traditions to respect one another and recognise the value of their respective traditions. The idea that there is one truth and one religion is relevant to the individual practitioner. However, with regard to the wider community, he says, there is a need to recognise that human beings observe several religions and several aspects of the truth.
- Thirdly, His Holiness is a Tibetan and as the ‘Dalai Lama’ is the focus of the Tibetan people’s hope and trust. Therefore, he is committed to preserving Tibetan language and culture, the heritage Tibetans received from the masters of India’s Nalanda University, while also speaking up for the protection of Tibet’s natural environment.
- In addition, His Holiness has lately spoken of his commitment to reviving awareness of the value of ancient Indian knowledge among young Indians today. His Holiness is convinced that the rich ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind and emotions, as well as the techniques of mental training, such as meditation, developed by Indian traditions, are of great relevance today. Since India has a long history of logic and reasoning, he is confident that its ancient knowledge, viewed from a secular, academic perspective, can be combined with modern education. He considers that India is, in fact, specially placed to achieve this combination of ancient and modern modes of knowing in a fruitful way so that a more integrated and ethically grounded way of being in the world can be promoted within contemporary society.
Useful links:
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) 
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