Spiritual Teachers Month – February 1, 2027

History of Spiritual Teachers Month

The 14th Dalai Lama was born as Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, he and two of his siblings were identified as the reincarnation of the Rinpoches. He was believed to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and consequently renamed Tenzin Gyatso. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, and his fifth brother, Tendzin Choegyal, were recognized as the reincarnation of the high Lama and 16th Ngari Rinpoche.

In 1941, Tenzin Gyatso began his monastic education at the age of six. His schooling consisted of logic, fine arts, Sanskrit grammar, medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. Throughout his education, he had various tutors, including Rating Rinpoche, Tathag Rinpoche, Ling Rinpoche, and Trijang Rinpoche. When he was 11, the 14th Dalai Lama met the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, who educated him about the world. They remained friends until Harrer died in 2006.

In 1950, following China’s invasion of Tibet, Tenzin assumed full political power as the ruler of Tibet. In 1954, the Dalai Lama went to Beijing to meet Mao Zedong and as a delegate for the first session of the National People’s Congress. At the conference, he was elected as a vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. However, in 1959, due to the Tibetan uprising and fear for his life, the Dalai Lama and his followers fled to Dharamshala in northern India. He later founded the Tibetan government in exile and undertook trips around the world, campaigning for Tibetan rights and freedom.