Tibetian Spiritual & Political Leader
About The Leader
About The Leader
The Dalai Lama has been an active proponent of compassion, love, and peace despite spending most of his life in exile and fighting for the rights of his people and region.
The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) is the supreme spiritual and political leader of the people of Tibet and a Buddhist monk.
Tenzin Gyatso was considered to be a reincarnation of the 13th Lama in 1937 and considered to be the next spiritual leader of people of Tibet. He assumed political power in 1950. In 1959 after a brutal invasion of Chinese military of Tibet, he was forced to escape to India and live in exile
Despite China's conquest of Tibet, he has been a true proponent of the Buddhist way of life, advocating peace, harmony, and compassion. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1989 for being an advocate of peaceful solutions to political oppression in Tibet.
His Purpose
The Dalai Lama has focused on making the world a better place for people to live through values of love, compassion , peace, and happiness
The Dalai Lama was given responsibilities much earlier in his life when he was recognized as 14th Dalai Lama at just 2 years old and assumed political responsibilities to run Tibet when he was just 15 years old.
Being a Buddhist follower and monk, the Dalai Lama has lived his life based on the Buddhist principles of peace, non-violence, and compassion. In 1959, even when his own people were suppressed by China and he was forced to escape to India, he continued to preach non-violent means to defend the rights of the Tibetan people.
He believes the key problem facing the world today is a hyper-focus on individualism to the detriment of humanity in general. He advocates moving away from a "my" focus (my country, my city, my religion, etc.) to a focus on how to benefit others, namely the other 7 billion people on the planet."
He believes:
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."
He additionally believes that the people need to find and do things that make them happy. He explains:
“I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives. I’m not talking about the short-term gratification of pleasures ... but something that will bring true and lasting happiness. The kind that sticks.”
Case for Change
Case for Change
“Too many people are highly self-centered and seem to do things mainly for their own benefit. They think about 'My country,' 'My religion,' and 'My family' instead of thinking of others."
Growth Gap
Growth Gap
“This has given rise to multiple problems and issues in the world: nuclear weapons threaten us, wars are fought, and decisions are made for just for personal benefit.”
Investment Portfolio
Investment Portfolio
“Problems like climate changed have shown that the impact of our individual actions have a huge impact on everyone. That's why we need to take decisions directed by the desire to positively impact the 7 billion people in the world and make their lives better.”
Did You Know...
Did You Know...
In 2011, the Dalai Lama retired as Tibetian leader and moved his attention to supporting democracy by creating a strong case to leaders that they needed to understand when to retire and effectively transition their responsibilities to the next generation.
Compassion
Compassion
The Dalai Lama believes that all religions promote love and brotherhood. It is essential for individuals and leaders to promote love, compassion, respect, and trust amongst all the people they work and interact with. This has been communicated in multiple speeches he has given at various events.
Key Actions
Key Actions
In the Dalai Lama's travels to many places around the world and his interactions with multiple people from different religions, he has emphasized the existence of human values that take precedence to religion. He has created a strong case for how being compassionate helps individuals improve their lives. Since his forced exile after the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he has never encouraged his people to take up arms in resistance and has always looked towards non-violent ways to promote and defend Tibetan rights.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Compassion
Care
Love and belonging
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Compassion and caring for others is extremely important in encouraging compassion and towards yourself. Regardless of the religion you follow, showing compassion to other individuals and communities can help to create a better reality for yourself and your world.
Responsibility
Responsibility
The Dalai Lama has emphasized the responsibility of leaders to look beyond self-interest and its impact on community, environment, future generations, and the world at large. He believes the problem of selfishness and individualism is also the problem plaguing humanity at large and that they will cause harm.
Key Actions
Key Actions
In his on leadership, conduct and happiness Dalai Lama preached the importance of leaders to think beyond their self-interests or business goals towards a better society. He claimed that all religions teach love. The real problems like climate change & global peace require attention
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Community & Global welfare
Community as a key stakeholder of business and political eco-systems
Impact based investing
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Responsible leaders do what is right for the community at large and look beyond short-sighted goals of mere profits and revenues; instead, they focus on making lives better fo for as many people as possible
Mindful
Mindful
Being mindful is being able to focus on tasks at hand with a clear, calm and focused mind. According to the Dalai Lama, leaders tend to focus their attention on planning for future problems, which can lead to fear, anxiety and anger. In contrast, focusing on cultivating compassion for others in the present reduces fear and opens a leader's mind to reasoning calmly and constructively.
Additional reading : The Dalai Lama on Why Leaders Should Be Mindful, Selfless, and Compassionate (hbr.org)
Key Actions
Key Actions
As a Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama preached the importance of focus and clarity as being the key drivers of happiness and success. He emphasized the importance of techniques like meditation as a method to calm the mind and achieve focus.
As a political leader, the Dalai Lama forged important relationships with leaders around the world, traveled to more than 62 countries to speak with diplomats advocating the rights of the Tibetan people. Despite his tireless and impassioned advocacy for Tibet in particular and human rights in general, he has always maintained a positive and calm demeanor, often using humor to diffuse tension and improve relations.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Using effective planning to create motivating and actionable visions for the future
Controlling anger and extreme emotions
Focusing on happiness and self-control
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
A leader must cultivate a clear vision, have a focused and balanced approach towards its implementation, and remain calm and composed during difficult times to achieve success
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