The 14th Dalai Lama was born Lhamo Döndrub, the 5th child of a large family in the farming village of Qinghai, China. At the age of 2, he was picked out as the rebirth of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and sent for formal monastic training to become a Buddhist monk and eventually become the spiritual head of the Tibetan people.
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
– Dalai Lama
He was formally enthroned as the Dalai Lama in 1950, shortly after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He was thrust into a position of immense significance becoming both spiritual and political leader to a country under invasion and occupation.
dalai-lamaAfter several years of Chinese occupation, the Dalai Lama escaped the country into India. He feared capture by the Chinese so reluctantly decided to leave, setting up a government in exile. After meeting with the prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, Nehru allowed the Dalai Lama and up to 80,000 Tibetan exiles to set up a government in exile in Dharamshala, India.