Dalai Lama XIV

Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, and describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on July 6, 1935, to a peasant family in the province of Amdo, in northeastern Tibet. Historically, the Dalai Lama has provided political and religious leadership in Tibet. He is considered a man of peace with global recognition and is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the Western Hemisphere. Through his teachings, he addresses many concerns, including the welfare of the people of Tibet, Buddhist teachings, the environment, women's rights, and interfaith dialogue. In 1989 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for maintaining a policy of nonviolence with the Chinese government. Following the invasion of the Chinese in Tibet in 1950 and the Tibetan uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama feared for his life and fled to India, where he currently lives in exile in Dharamsala in northern India.