A Brief Biography
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is
both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July
1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo,
northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo
Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai
Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations
of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint
of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their
own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.
Education in Tibet
His Holiness began his monastic education at the age of six. The
curriculum consisted of five major and five minor subjects. The major
subjects were logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine, and Buddhist
philosophy which was further divided into a further five categories:
Prajnaparimita, the perfection of wisdom; Madhyamika, the philosophy of the
middle Way; Vinaya, the canon of monastic discipline; Abidharma, metaphysics;
and Pramana, logic and epistemology. The five minor subjects were poetry,
music and drama, astrology, motre and phrasing, and synonyms. At 23 he
sat for his final examination in the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, during the annual
Monlam (prayer) Festival in 1959. He passed with honours and was awarded
the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest-level degree equivalent to a doctorate
of Buddhist philosophy. Leadership Responsibilities
In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to
assume full political power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949. In
1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese
leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai. But finally, in 1959,
with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by
Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile. Since then
he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India, the seat of the Tibetan
political administration in exile.
Since the Chinese invasion, His Holiness has appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet. The General Assembly adopted three resolutions on Tibet in 1959, 1961 and 1965.
Since the Chinese invasion, His Holiness has appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet. The General Assembly adopted three resolutions on Tibet in 1959, 1961 and 1965.
Democratisation
Process
In 1963 His Holiness presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet that was followed by a number of reforms to democratise our administrative set-up. The new democratic constitution promulgated as a result of this reform was named "The Charter of Tibetans in Exile". The charter enshrines freedom of speech, belief, assembly and movement. It also provides detailed guidelines on the functioning of the Tibetan government with respect to those living in exile.
In 1963 His Holiness presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet that was followed by a number of reforms to democratise our administrative set-up. The new democratic constitution promulgated as a result of this reform was named "The Charter of Tibetans in Exile". The charter enshrines freedom of speech, belief, assembly and movement. It also provides detailed guidelines on the functioning of the Tibetan government with respect to those living in exile.
In 1992 His Holiness issued guidelines
for the constitution of a future, free Tibet. He announced that when
Tibet becomes free the immediate task would be to set up an interim government
whose first responsibility will be to elect a constitutional assembly to frame
and adopt Tibet's democratic constitution. On that day His Holiness would
transfer all his historical and political authority to the Interim President
and live as an ordinary citizen. His Holiness also stated that he hoped
that Tibet, comprising of the three traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo and
Kham, would be federal and democratic.
In May 1990, the reforms called for by His Holiness saw the realisation of a truly democratic administration in exile for the Tibetan community. The Tibetan Cabinet (Kashag), which till then had been appointed by His Holiness, was dissolved along with the Tenth Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan parliament in exile). In the same year, exile Tibetans on the Indian sub-continent and in more than 33 other countries elected 46 members to the expanded Eleventh Tibetan Assembly on a one-man one-vote basis. The Assembly, in its turn, elected the new members of the cabinet. In September 2001, a further major step in democratisation was taken when the Tibetan electorate directly elected the Kalon Tripa, the senior-most minister of the Cabinet. The Kalon Tripa in turn appointed his own cabinet who had to be approved by the Tibetan Assembly. In Tibet's long history, this was the first time that the people elected the political leadership of Tibet.
In May 1990, the reforms called for by His Holiness saw the realisation of a truly democratic administration in exile for the Tibetan community. The Tibetan Cabinet (Kashag), which till then had been appointed by His Holiness, was dissolved along with the Tenth Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan parliament in exile). In the same year, exile Tibetans on the Indian sub-continent and in more than 33 other countries elected 46 members to the expanded Eleventh Tibetan Assembly on a one-man one-vote basis. The Assembly, in its turn, elected the new members of the cabinet. In September 2001, a further major step in democratisation was taken when the Tibetan electorate directly elected the Kalon Tripa, the senior-most minister of the Cabinet. The Kalon Tripa in turn appointed his own cabinet who had to be approved by the Tibetan Assembly. In Tibet's long history, this was the first time that the people elected the political leadership of Tibet.
TO BE CONTINUED
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