DALAI LAMA


Meaning of DALAI LAMA in English

Head of the dominant Dge-lugs-pa order of Tibetan Buddhism .

The first of the line was Dge-'dun-grub-pa (1391–1475), founder of a monastery in central Tibet. His successors were regarded as his reincarnations and, like himself, manifestations of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara . The second head of the order established the 'Brasspungs monastery near Lhasa as its base, and the third received the title Dalai ("Ocean") from Altan Khan. The fifth, Ngag-dbang-rgya-mtsho (1617–1682), established the supremacy of the Dge-lugs-pa over other orders. The 13th Dalai Lama, Thub-bstan-rgya-mtsho (1875–1933), held temporal and spiritual power after the Chinese were expelled in 1912. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho (b. 1935), was enthroned in 1940 but fled in 1959 with 100,000 followers after a failed revolt against the Chinese, who had gained control of Tibet in 1950–51. His government-in-exile is in Dharmsala, India. A respected figure worldwide, he was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his "constructive and forward-looking proposals" for solving world problems.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.