Dalai Lama

The head of the Tibetan Buddhist community and traditionally the ruler of Tibet. The fi rst Dalai Lama assumed offi ce in 1438, although he was not given that title until 1578, when the Mongol king, Alta Khan, gave the name Dalai Lama to the head of the Tibetan religious community. Dalai means "ocean, all-encompassing"; lama means "supreme teacher." The fi rst Dalai Lama resided at the Tashilhunpo monastery in central Tibet, but his successors have ruled from Lhasa. The Dalai Lama is seen as an INCARNATION of AVALOKITESVARA, a BODHISATTVA. Tibetan BUDDHISM teaches that rebirth occurs 49 days after death (see BARDO THODOL). Successive Dalai Lamas are found by identifying signs on a child born 49 days after the death of the previous Dalai Lama. The candidate also demonstrates knowledge of the previous Dalai Lama's possessions. In 1959 the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), fl ed into exile to escape Chinese rule. In 1989 he received the Nobel Prize for peace for leading a peaceful resistance to the Chinese takeover.