The Dalai Lama was born in Takser (Tibet), near the Chinese border. His birhday is the 6th of July 1935. He was the poor son of farmers. When he was three years old, monks recognized him as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama. In monasteries, scientists prepared him and his position as the future Dalai Lama. He was very interested in technology, nature and international politics.
When in 1949/50 the Chinese army invaded Tibet, the 15-year old Dalai Lama took over the control. Then followed hard years: he had to accept, and couldn’t do anything when the Chinese army conquered Tibet. After that, the Tibetan people fought against them. But they didn’t have a chance. So the Dalai Lama had to flee over the Himalaya to India in 1959. This way was very dangerous, but 130‘000 Tibetan people followed him and since then the Dalai Lama is the hope of Tibetans at home and in the exile.
Today the Dalai Lama is highly esteemed all over the world. So he met the Pope, John Paul II at the Vatican and many politicians, like Valclav Havel, and he met the US-president Bill Clinton. In 1989 he got the Nobel Prize for peace. And worldwide he got more than 40 distinctions. That is remarkable! I chose the 14th Dalai Lama, because he fought without violence and he does a lot of good things for his nation, for example freedom and peace. We can learn from him.
There is a film about Dalai Lama and his childhood. The name of that film is “Seven years in Tibet“ and it’s a true story. In the film he had a white friend from Germany and that collegiality still exists now. This story inspired me. I know Dalai Lama had a hard life, but not for nothing. I think that Dalai Lama is a big religious guide of our time.