Dalai Lama turns 90: Monk, exile, Nobel laureate and symbol of hope

From a shepherd boy in Amdo to a global peace icon, the Dalai Lama's life spans resistance to Chinese rule, spiritual leadership, and a Nobel Prize for non-violence

On July 6, 1935, a boy named Lhamo Dhondup was born in a small village in Amdo, northeastern Tibet. The sixth of sixteen children, his early life was marked by simplicity and hardship—his parents were barley farmers, his mother remembered as endlessly kind, and his father temperamental but fair.

 

At age two, his fate changed forever. A Tibetan government search party—guided by omens and visions—arrived at Kumbum Monastery and identified him as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. In a series of tests, the toddler correctly recognised possessions of his predecessor, proclaiming, “It’s mine.” This convinced the high lamas that they had found the 14th Dalai Lama.

 

 

What followed was a wrenching separation from his family and early life in monasteries under strict discipline. In 1940, he was formally enthroned in Lhasa and renamed Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. The journey from a remote village to the Potala Palace marked the beginning of a spiritual and political saga that would span the century. 

 

A monk forced to rule too early

 

Tenzin Gyatso began his monastic education at the age of six, studying under the Nalanda curriculum. Subjects ranged from Buddhist philosophy and logic to Sanskrit grammar and poetry. He would go on to attain the Geshe Lharampa degree, equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist studies.

 

But the burden of spiritual tutelage soon gave way to geopolitical responsibility. In 1950, at just 15, he was urged by senior monks and government oracles to take on full political authority, as Chinese troops invaded eastern Tibet. Despite efforts to initiate dialogue with the Chinese leadership—including meetings with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in 1954—the People's Liberation Army tightened its grip.

 

In March 1959, following a failed uprising and intelligence about a plot to abduct or assassinate him, the Dalai Lama disguised himself as a soldier and fled Lhasa. After crossing the Himalayas under harsh conditions, he reached Arunachal Pradesh and was granted asylum by India.

 

Building a new Tibet in exile

 

In exile, the Dalai Lama transformed from a besieged leader into a builder of institutions. The Indian government, under former Prime Minister Jawaharlala Nehru, helped establish schools for Tibetan children, rehabilitation centres for refugees, and eventually the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, now known as “Little Lhasa". 

 

On June 20, 1959, the Dalai Lama officially repudiated the Seventeen-Point Agreement signed under duress with China. He announced his vision for a democratic Tibet and began creating a system of self-governance among the refugees. In 1963, he introduced the Charter of Tibetans in Exile, laying the foundation for a democratic polity with legislative, executive and judicial branches.

 

By 2001, Tibetans in exile were electing their political leader—the Kalon Tripa—through universal adult franchise. In 2011, the Dalai Lama formally devolved his political authority, ending a 368-year-old tradition of spiritual-political rule. “I am now a retired monk,” he said, even as he remained the symbolic heartbeat of the Tibetan cause.

 

A global symbol of compassion and resistance

 

While he remained stateless, the Dalai Lama became a citizen of the world. Travelling to over 67 countries, meeting leaders, scientists, religious scholars and activists, he carried a message of compassion, interdependence and non-violence. His 1987 Five-Point Peace Plan, proposed before the US Congress, called for Tibet to be declared a zone of peace and demanded protection of Tibet’s fragile ecology and culture.

 

In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of non-violent struggle in the face of aggression. The Nobel Committee praised his consistent opposition to the use of violence and his concern for global environmental issues.

 

Through the Mind and Life Institute, he fostered dialogue between Buddhist monks and scientists on topics such as neurobiology, consciousness, and emotional regulation—creating a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern science.

 

Question of succession

 

As he enters his tenth decade, the Dalai Lama has turned focus to a question that carries deep spiritual and political weight: his succession. In 2011, he issued a formal statement detailing how a 15th Dalai Lama could be recognised—through traditional Buddhist procedures involving senior lamas and divination rituals—not political appointments.

 

On July 2, 2025, he made it clear that the authority to recognise his reincarnation rests solely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust established by him.

 

Dalai Lama has repeatedly said that any successor selected by Beijing would not be accepted. “In order (for the) Chinese government to take responsibility for reincarnation in general, particularly me, first, Chinese communists should accept the theory of rebirth,” he had remarked in 2017.

 

Legacy beyond Tibet

 

Today, the Dalai Lama remains a towering moral figure, even without territorial power. His life has become emblematic of the spiritual resilience of Tibet and a broader global yearning for moral clarity in an age of polarisation and authoritarianism.

 

From a farming family in a forgotten Tibetan village to becoming the face of non-violent resistance and interfaith dialogue, his journey is without parallel. He has written over 110 books, been honoured with more than 150 awards, and inspired generations with the simplest of ideas—that inner peace is the first step toward world peace.

 

As Dalai Lama turns 90, the world celebrates not just a spiritual teacher, but a guiding light in today's polarising world. In his own words: "Basically, the universal responsibility is feeling for other people’s suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realisation that even our enemy is entirely motivated by the quest for happiness. We must recognise that all beings want the same thing that we want. This is the way to achieve a true understanding, unfettered by artificial consideration."