the Dalai Lama

"I am held to be the reincarnation of each of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet ... I am often asked whether I truly believe this. The anwer is not simple to give. But as a fifty-six year old, when I consider my experiences during this present life, and given my Buddhist beliefs, I have no difficulty accepting that I am spiritually connected both to the thirteen previous Dalai Lamas ... and to the Buddha himself."

In the spring of 1938, a delegation of monks, carrying objects that had belonged to the recently deceased Dalai Lama, arrived at the household of a small farmer in the province of Amdo in Tibet. They showed these objects to the three-year-old son of the house, along with similar objects. The boy consistently chose those that belonged to the Dalai Lama, saying, "It's mine!" He also correctly addressed the leader of the party, by his title and the name of his monastery, although this man had been pretending to be a servant. The new Dalai Lama had been discovered.

Here is the Dalai Lama's description of the bedroom he grew up in, in the Potala palace: "At one end of the room stood an altar. On it were set small butter lamps and little dishes of food and water placed in offering to the Buddhas. Every day these would be plundered by mice. I became very fond of these little creatures. They were very beautiful and showed no fear as they helped themselves to their daily rations. At night, as I lay in bed, I would hear these companions of mine running to and fro. Sometimes they came over to my bed. This was the only substantial piece of furniture in my room, other than the altar, and consisted of a large wooden box filled with cushions and surrounded by long, red curtains. The mice would clamber over these too, their urine dripping down as I snuggled under the blankets below."

"I also had a very good set of lead soldiers, which, when I was older, I learned to melt down and recast as monks."

In 1950, the People's Liberation Army of China began its invasion of Tibet. The Dalai Lama was formally installed as the ruler of Tibet on Nov. 17, 1950, aged 15, two years earlier than planned. "There were two schools of thought: one consisted of people who looked to me for leadership in this crisis; the other, of people who felt that I was still too young for such responsibility. I agreed with the latter group, but, unfortunately, I was not consulted."

The Dalai Lama was forced to flee Tibet in 1959. Today he lives in exile in Dharamsala, India, where he maintains a monastery and wages a nonviolent campaign for the freedom of his homeland, whose tragedy continues. The government of China has consistently sought to destroy the people, culture, and even wildlife of this peaceful country. (For more information, see the Free Tibet Home Page.)

"If I die before Tibetans regain their freedom, it is only logical to assume that I will be born outside Tibet. Of course, it could be that by then my people will have no use for a Dalai Lama, in which case they will not bother to search for me. So I might take rebirth as an insect, or an animal -- whatever would be of most value to the largest number of sentient beings."