In light of the impending visit from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, it seemed a good opportunity to present a very brief outline of his eventful life and some of the incredible ways in which his message of compassion has touched the world.
The Dalai Lama is believed to be a continuous cycle of the manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Though Enlightened, they delay their nirvana and instead are reborn to do good for humanity. The 14th of his kind, Tenzin Gyatso was born in 1935 in a small agricultural village in Tibet and recognised at a young age. When the Chinese began their invasion of Tibet fifteen years later, political power was given to the Dalai Lama to lead negotiations for peace but after many years of struggle, the violence escalated and he was forced into exile from his own country. To this day he has lived in Dharamsala in northern India from which point he has coordinated and helped bring about some tremendously important changes not only in Tibet but with other nations and their leaders.
In the years following his exile, His Holiness worked tirelessly to draft a system of democracy for Tibet and established the Central Tibetan Administration, which works with other Tibetans in exile and towards restoring freedom to Tibet. He has received international recognition for his efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the situation in Tibet and in 1989, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Dalai Lama has an ongoing commitment to pursuing non-violent solutions and the spread of compassion, despite intense adversity. An important link between his Buddhist philosophy and the installation of a democratic government in his birth country is his value for personal freedom.
His Holiness believes in pursuing systems of political freedom and in exploring the common space between this and many core elements of Buddhist teachings. Thus, much of his gift to the world has been his dialogue with communities and governments about the importance of compassion and acceptance. Despite this, the Norwegian government has closed their doors during his visit, but it is the absolute pleasure of Det Norske Studentersamfund to host a conversation between students and His Holiness this Thursday in what promises to be an unmissable occasion.
A limited number of tickets are available on Tuesday the 6th and the symposium begins at 13:30 on Thursday the 8th.