Llamo Thondup was identified as the spiritual leader of Tibet at age 2 but ended up losing his entire country to China barely 2 decades later. This is the story of the 14th Dalai Lama, and his lifelong struggle to return his country to independence.
1933 – The 13th Dalai Lama passes away. A search mission to find the next Dalai Lama—the spiritual leader of Tibet believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha who will be reborn as a child once the previous Dalai Lama dies—begins.
1935 – Llamo Thondup is born in the Amdo region of Tibet to a farming family.
Age 2 – Reting Rinpoche who works in the search mission has a vision of 3 letters on a lake suggesting the Amdo region of Tibet, a monastery, a path and a small house. Monks visit the location and upon meeting Llhamo, declare Llhamo to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. They take him and his parents back to the Norbulinkga Palace in Lhasa and recognise him as the 14th Dalai Lama. His name is changed to Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. His parents become noble aristocrats.
Age 5 – He moves to the Potala Palace without his parents and formally sits on the throne as the spiritual leader of Tibet. He begins training in religious austerity, which he will do until age 18. In the meantime, Reting Rinpoche will deal with politics on his behalf, while other Rinpoches simultaneously act as his private tutors. He is not allowed to play outside. Soon after, Reting Rinpoche resigns from his role to get into politics for his own benefit and breaks his vow of celibacy. The 14th Dalai Lama appoints Tathag Rinpoche to deal with politics.
Age 12 – Reting Rinpoche attempts to murder Tathag Rinpoche while trying to regain political power. Lives are lost, people are injured and monastries are destroyed. Reting Rinpoche is sent to jail.
Age 14 – Mao Zedong takes over China and turns it into a communist country. His party then declares Tibet to be a part of China and sends troops to march in to “liberate Tibet from the hands of foreign imperialists”. As there are no foreign imperialists in Tibet, Tibet officials send missions to foreign countries to ask for help in defending themselves against China.
Age 15 – The Chinese army attacks Tibet. The Tibetian army is no match for them. The monks in regions overtaken by the Chinese army are no longer able to practice their religion, instead they are forced to accept communism and accept that Tibet is a part of China. The Tibetian people begin to demand the 14th Dalai Lama come into power earlier than age 18. The Chinese army plan to kill the 14th Dalai Lama if he doesn’t submit to China and communism. The 14th Dalai Lama decides to come into power. He retreats from Llasa to evade approaching Chinese forces and takes refuge in Dromo, southern Tibet while waiting for foreign nations to send help.
Age 16 – No foreign countries send help. China claim that they have signed an agreement with Tibet for Tibet to return to its Motherland, China, and their troops take over Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama is forced by China to return to Llasa where he becomes aware of food shortages caused by the large volume of Chinese troops (numbering 20,000) now fighting for food with the common people of Llasa (numbering 70,000). Land and property belonging to civilians are confiscated and Tibetians are made to construct Chinese projects while being treated like slave labour. The youth of Tibet are also brainwashed into preferring communism over Tibetian culture.
Age 17 – 2 Prime Ministers of Tibet resign. The 14th Dalai Lama attempts to negotiate with the Chinese for Tibet’s autonomy but fails to convince them.
Age 19 – The 14th Dalai Lama is invited to visit Beijing and meets with Chairman Mao to discuss the care of Tibetian people. He soon realises that the meeting was just for China to show the world that they are not aggressors at all. He also finds out later that the Chinese troops are using the photographs he and Mao took together to convince Tibetians that he is in agreement with the reforms China is forcing upon them.
Age 21 – Civilian Tibetians form a rebellion called The Freedom Fighters’ Alliance Movement. Chinese troops bomb thousands of towns and temples in response to them. The 14th Dalai Lama complains to Chairman Mao but gets no response. He goes to India to attend the 2500th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha and when he returns, finds out that even more atrocities have been committed against the Tibetian people in his absence, and also that the rebellion in Tibet is gaining strength.
Age 22 – In response to the likelihood of worse violence, he decides to finish his doctorate of Buddhist studies earlier, in order to be officially a monk and a true spiritual leader of Tibet.
Age 23 – He receives his doctoral degree. The Chinese troops in Tibet invite him and his brother to a Chinese dance performance but news soon gets out that it could be a plot on his life and civilians soon gather outside his palace to prevent him from going to the event. The 14th Dalai Lama agrees to stay away from the performance to prevent the Chinese army from attacking the protesters but the crowd of protestors doesn’t disperse for days. When Chinese troops threaten to bomb the crowd outside the palace, the 14th Dalai Lama decides to evacuate in secret disguised as one of the Tibetan army. He seeks asylum in India but the Chinese troops bomb the crowd outside the palace anyway, killing thousands. He promises Tibetan refugees in India that he will continue to fight in a non-violent way for the freedom of Tibetan people and culture from there.
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Age 25 – In leaving Tibet, he officially loses control of Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama relocates to Dharamsala in India with his administration and builds orphanages in India, funded by the Indian government. The town soon develops into a prosperous Tibetan community, full of temples with rituals held in accordance to the traditional Tibetan calendar. He begins meeting with other world leaders to preach for the autonomy of Tibet.
Up to Age 44 – Rebels supported by the US CIA who are determined to stop the spread of communism manage to kill some groups of Chinese troops but it only gives China an excuse to send in more troops and attack with more ferocity. Millions of Tibetans die and temples and monasteries are destroyed.
Age 54 – The 14th Dalai Lama receives the Nobel Prize for peace, having been in exile for 29 years. He takes the opportunity to mourn the extinction of Tibetan people and cultures and the damage done to its land caused by industrialisation and radioactive waste disposal sent over by the Chinese government, and urges the Tibetan people to continue their non-violent struggle for autonomy.
Age 84 – The 14th Dalai Lama says he might be reincarnated as either a man or woman, adult or child, or appear in the bodies of several people simultaneously. He says his rebirth will either occur in a “free country” or not at all.
2020 – The 14th Dalai Lama is presently 85 years old.
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Photographs: Brooke Dolan, Ilya Tolstoy. Compiler: Sy
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He is one of my heroes and role models. I know he feels compassion rather than hate or fear for the Chinese aggressors.
A major reason for the Chinese government to invade China is that they accurately foresaw the coming shortage of water. Tibet is the source of many of the great rivers, and China can divert water from India.
Pity the loss of authentic Tibetan culture though. Self-preservation is ugly.