The Dalai Lama, also known as Tenzin Gyatso, is the 14th Dalai Lama. He was born on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in Taktser, a village in northeastern Tibet
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At the age of 2, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognised as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso
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He assumed spiritual leadership at 4 and took full political control of Tibet at just 15
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The Dalai Lama grew up in Tibet's thousand-year-old Potala Palace in Lhasa. But he has lived in exile in India since the Chinese Army crushed an uprising in his homeland in 1959
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In 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work advocating nonviolent means to free Tibet from China
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The Dalai Lama continues to promote peaceful dialogue, even with China, despite decades in exile
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He actively supports scientific research and is passionate about connecting Buddhism with neuroscience and psychology
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He travels the world teaching universal human values like kindness, empathy, and inner peace
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Despite his global influence, he always refers to himself as a “simple Buddhist monk”
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On July 2, he confirmed that he will have a successor when he dies, reassuring Buddhist followers around the globe that the age-old institution of the Dalai Lama will continue