‘Voice for the Voiceless’

1 year ago

On the night of March 17, 1959, the 23-year-old Dalai Lama quietly changed out of his monastic robes and into layman’s clothing. He slipped his glasses into his pocket, shouldered a rifle borrowed from a bodyguard, and stepped into the darkness outside Norbulingka Palace. A fortnight later, he crossed the border into India. “There is nothing dramatic about our crossing of the frontier,” he wrote, “the country was equally wild on each side of it, and uninhabited. I saw it in a daze, of sickness and weariness, and unhappiness deeper than I can express.” Since then, the Dalai Lama has won a Nobel Peace Prize, become a symbol of nonviolence and a prominent spiritual master promoting religious harmony, and most importantly, led his displaced people into a thriving diasporic community. Along with these immense commitments, the Dalai Lama has also authored (or coauthored) nearly a hundred books, including two memoirs, numerous works on Buddhist philosophy, as well as books on science, ethics, and human well-being.

Original Article