We gather here today to celebrate the 89th birthday of His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama, the crown ornament of the material and spiritual worlds including the heavenly realms, the master of the entire corpus of teachings of the Buddha, the supreme protector of the Buddhist faith and ultimate refuge of all sentient beings under the sky, the destined protector-deity of all sentient beings of the Snowland of Tibet encompassed by the scatter of the flowers of its reach, the miracle emanation of the lotus-holding Bodhisattva, a Buddhist monk who is in full perseverance of observing his sacred vows, the spiritual lord of the three world realms; a great friend to all sentient beings even in the absence of any prior intimacy, a champion of world peace, and the unsurpassable leader and guiding light of the people of Tibet. On 6th of July 1935, corresponding to the 5th day of the 5th month of the Tibetan Wood-Hog Year, His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama – whose full name is Jetsun Jampel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso Sisum Wanggyur Tsungpa Meypey-de Pal-Sangpo – the guiding light of Gods and humans, the omniscient lord of the victorious ones, and one who is generous in granting wishes and favours, being driven by necessity and in order to fulfil noble objectives, took birth as a son of Choekyong Tsering, his father, and Dekyi Tsering, his mother, at Taktser Village of Domey Kumbum in eastern Tibet amid the appearances of numerous amazing and wondrous signs of auspiciousness. And so, on his attaining 89 years of age on this day of complete auspiciousness, as measured by the Gregorian calendar system, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile wishes to extend its greetings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama with undivided body, speech and mind devotion on behalf of all sentient beings of this world in general and, especially, on behalf of all fellow-Tibetans, whether they be living in Tibet or in exile.
It is thus stated in ‘The Sutra of the White Lotus of the Good Dharma’: “The supremely noble Avalokiteśvara, while practicing bodhisattva conduct in the past, thus vowed in the presence of a thousand Buddhas: ‘May I establish on the path of liberation and enlightenment those sentient beings in the borderland of the snowy kingdom who are difficult to tame, and where no Buddhas of the three times have ever set foot. / May even those borderlands become my fields of conversion. / May I become like a parent to all those sentient beings, including the demons and spirits. / May I become like a captain who liberates beings. / May I be like a lamp that dispels darkness.’” In keeping with such wide-ranging prayers of commitment, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has seen the Snowland of Tibet as a special object of affection and field for guiding sentient beings towards the path of liberation. Accordingly, he manifested himself as a Bodhisattva monkey to originate the first generation of human beings there. Thereafter he emanated successively as Lha Thothori Nyentsen and so forth, which included the Mewon Namsum great Kings of Tibet. He introduced and established the Buddhist religion and ensured the flourishing of both the religion and political authority in the land. Thereafter from the time of the omniscient lotus-holding Gedun Drubpa, there has been an uninterrupted rosary of his reincarnations by means of which the Buddhist religion flourished as if a second Buddha had arrived there. This has proved to be of immense benefit to all sentient beings, especially for the religion and sentient beings of the Snowland of Tibet, where the beneficence showered on both the religion and sentient beings has been unimaginable.
Following his unmistaken recognition at the age of two based on the power of the kindness of his predecessor and the discernment of divine beings and lamas, His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama was escorted to Tibet’s capital Lhasa in 1939. Then, on the 14th day of the 1st month in the Tibetan Iron-Dragon Year, corresponding to the 22nd of February in 1940, His Holiness was ushered to the high golden throne in the Potala palace that is held aloft by five fiercely fearless snowlions for his coronation. The banner of the auspiciousness of the event fluttered in the ten directions. He immersed himself in his educational pursuits, and attained perfection in both the general and esoteric knowledge of all the textual traditions. He gave his examinations by undertaking academic tours of the three seat monastic centres of Tibet’s Buddhist learning and won the Geshe Lharampa degree certification, attaining the status of being the apex jewel of learnedness among all the masters in the Snowland of Tibet.
In 1949, communist China began its armed invasion of Tibet from its eastern border. And the political situation in Tibet became precarious, like the flame of a depleting butter lamp being flickered by the blowing of wind. The situation was such that it became starkly obvious that none but His
Holiness the Dalai Lama alone had the authoritativeness and competence to steer the religious and political course of Tibet. The entirety of the divine and human beings of the Snowland of Tibet was spontaneous in praying with resolute determination with His Holiness that he assume that role now. He was only 16 years old at that time. Even so, His Holiness took a firm pledge to carry forward the works of his predecessors. It was thus that on the 11th day of the 10th month in the Tibetan Iron-Tiger Year, which corresponded to the 17th of November in 1950, His Holiness the Dalai Lama assumed responsibility as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. In order to protect the Tibetan people from an impending bloodshed, His Holiness maintained constant contact with the communist Chinese government, fighting fire with fire, for nine years while making efforts directed at reaching a settlement on the Sino-Tibetan conflict. But the aim of the government of China was nefarious. It employed all manners of unending streams of deceit on the Tibetan side, which included a succession of plans that endangered the personal safety of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was because of this intolerable situation that on the 10th of March in 1959, the Tibetan people were compelled to launch a spontaneous uprising campaign, directing their anger at the egregious communist Chinese plots that threatened the personal safety of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After that, the situation in Tibet became extremely critical, with the result that His Holiness was left with no option but to leave his Norbu Lingkha Palace in the night of 17th March 1959 to escape into exile and seek asylum in the sacred land of India.
After arriving in India, His Holiness re-established the Tibetan government in exile while devoting himself to ensuring that the people of the three provinces of Tibet and the followers of the different religious traditions of Tibet remained a united entity. And he steered the Tibetan people on the path towards a democratic form of governance. His contributions towards ensuring the sustenance of the ethnic identity of the Tibetan people and the preservation and advancement of the religion, culture, language and so forth of the Tibetan people, as well as in the campaign for the just cause of Tibet remain incredibly enormous. It is solely thanks to the power of his kindness in making those efforts that today the Tibetan religion and culture enjoys great respect both in India and internationally. And it is also entirely owing to the power of his kindness in making those efforts that there is today continued support and respect both in India and internationally for the important issues that underline the Tibetan people’s struggle for their just cause. These explain why the organization of the Tibetan community in exile emerged as a distinctive one, standing apart from other refugee communities of peoples across the world.
His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama is a person who has attained a wide understanding of both Buddhism and other fields of knowledge. He has paid great attention to modern science and is esteemed by all shades of people who are leaders in different fields of knowledge while being highly admiring of his contributions. In particular, from the year 1954, His Holiness has conferred a total of 34 Kalachakra empowerment teachings. At all times, day and night, His Holiness remains in meditational practice of altruistic aspiration to enlightenment endowed with the essence of the knowledge of emptiness. This is the means by which he has worked to ensure a cohesive intermingling of the Buddhist teachings in general and, especially, among the followers of the different Tibetan Buddhist traditions, like the smoothness of the blending of water and milk. Besides, His Holiness has made tireless efforts to achieve harmony among the different religions of the world, travelling to different places and delivering edifying talks. This has resulted in the fact that leaders and followers of non-Buddhist religions too show respect to him, listen to his words, and agree with his views.
The seed of what is called the SEE Learning today was sown by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was part of his efforts to revive in India the ancient Indian knowledge of psychology and secular ethics by integrating them with modern educational curriculum. His aim was to establish a world based on the practice of compassion. Including in India, the SEE Learning textbooks are now being taught in many schools at different levels across the world. It does not matter whether or not the subjects are Buddhist, whether they are religious believers or non-believers, the efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been directed at promoting compassion and inculcating inner peace, based on these ancient Indian knowledge which he has sought to promote as much as possible. His Holiness has been continuous in giving us the nectar-like advice at all times about the need for us to be aware of the oneness of humanity and to treat all human beings alike with the practice of compassion and non-violence. Besides, His Holiness has been constant in showing great concern for the global environmental health in general, and in the protection of the natural environment of Tibet in particular.
From the year 1957 onwards, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been awarded nearly two hundred honours and awards. These include awards from the United States of America, Europe, India and a number of other Asian countries. They also include honorary doctorates and as a champion of peace. The particularly outstanding ones include the globally famed Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Congressional Gold Medal, and the John Templeton Prize from the United Kingdom. The fact that he is a highly respected and loved leader internationally shows that His Holiness has become a common treasured jewel not only to the Tibetan people or the Buddhists but also to people across the world.
Just recently, His Holiness the Dalai Lama travelled to the United States of America for his knee treatment and it has been a grand success, thus bringing immense joy to all of us. At that time, prayer services were held at monasteries of the various religious orders as well as by the Tibetan people both in Tibet and in exile, by people across the Himalayan regions, and by people of other religious faiths. Many public figures have expressed prayers for the good health and speedy recovery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We take this opportunity to express gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and other concerned staff of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City for their services. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has delighted us with the news of the communication he received from the supreme protector-deity Palden Lhamo that he will live to more than one hundred and ten years of age. Even a fraction of the gratitude we owe to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his unwavering commitment to live among us in the form embodying the Mandala of the Buddha Amitayu cannot be repaid even if we are to attempt to do so with heaps of gold filling three thousand worlds over a multitude of aeons. And so, on this day, all Tibetans living in countries across the world remember the gratitude they owe to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his universally acclaimed works by means of celebrating his birthday with joy, faith and gratification. By it, we reiterate our pledge to put into practice whatever we have been heartened to hear of his edifying talks. And it is incumbent on all of us Tibetan citizenry to commit to heart whatever wishes His Holiness has expressed to us and whatever edifying advices he has given us. And we should carry out this commitment with a feeling of encouragement by pooling whatever capabilities we have in the campaign for striving to achieve our just religious, cultural, linguistic and national causes with unity.
By the Tibetan calendar system, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has crossed 90 years of age this year. Under the Gregorian calendar system, he will become a nonagenarian next year. In order to remember its gratitude and express its feeling of indebtedness on this occasion, the Central Tibetan Administration plans to organize a grand 90th birthday celebrations as well as to offer a long-life prayer ceremony to His Holiness to mark the occasion. Our plan is to celebrate the birthday as an all year round event. Hence, if all Tibetans, whether in private capacity or as organizations, are also able to organize programmes of various sizes for the purpose of expressing their gratitude, they will no doubt earn the merits of making clouds of offerings that gladden His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s heart and we make this request accordingly.
In Tibet, the situation continues to be such that the Tibetan people are being subjected to false criminal charges, violent repression, beating, arrest and detention, and imprisonment without any fair judicial procedure. China continues to implement in Tibet genocidal policies that trample on the Tibetan people’s human rights and that are designed to decimate them as an ethnic group. These have been continuously criticized and reported on internationally. In this continuum, a high level Congressional delegation from the US led by Mr. Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Representative from the Republican Party, and which included former Speaker Ms. Nancy Pelosi as well as Gregory Meeks, a Democratic Party leader in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and others especially arrived in Dharamshala on the 18th of June 2024. The delegation was accorded a grand and solemn welcome on their visits to the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. On the 19th of June, the delegation called on His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his residence, during which it presented to him a copy of the Resolve Tibet Act bill that had been recently passed in its final form by the United States Congress; and the members discussed its contents with him. Following the meeting, the Central Tibetan Administration officially organized a grand public event on the Tsuglakhang ground for the delegation for the purpose of according to it a high level of honour and greetings. Members of the delegation delivered speeches during that event, affirming unwavering and selfless strong continued support on the issue of Tibet. The event sent a clear message to the government of China that the Tibetan people are not alone in their struggle against its rule. It also gave a new fillip and a renewed hope to the Tibetan people’s struggle. Besides, it gave a new boost to the Tibetan people’s struggle and became a source of renewed encouragement to them. Because of all this, we take the opportunity provided by this momentous occasion to again offer heartfelt gratitude to the members of the United States Congress delegation and other concerned.
Likewise, we also wish to express our gratitude to the government and people of India as well as the United States of America, the countries in Europe and others for their generosity in supporting our national struggle and towards the preservation of our language, and culture. We also wish to express our gratitude to them as well as governments and parliaments of the various countries that have extended support to the Tibetan cause, whether directly, indirectly or by other means.
Finally, we wish to express our prayers with an ardently single-minded devotion that His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the master of the entire corpus of the teachings of the Buddha, the omniscient one who is generous in granting wishes and favours, may live for a hundred aeons without even a semblance of a hint of harm to his body, speech and mind faculties, as the protector of the sentient beings of this world in general and especially as the refuge for this and future lives of the sentient beings of the Snowland of Tibet, that all his wishes may be seen fulfilled with spontaneity so that just cause of Tibet may definitely prevail.
By the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile
6 July 2024
* In case of any discrepancy between this English translation and its Tibetan original, the latter should be considered as authoritative and final for all purposes.
