The Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)

Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935 CE), the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader most associated with Tibetan Buddhism worldwide and, for decades, the head of the Tibetan exile community. Born in Taktser in Amdo (present-day Qinghai, China) and recognized as a young child as the reincarnation of his predecessor, he was enthroned in Lhasa and assumed temporal authority in 1950, then fled to India after the 1959 uprising and established the exile community at Dharamsala. A teacher of the Gelug tradition who has also promoted dialogue between Buddhism and science and across religions, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and in 2011 devolved his political role to an elected leadership. He is a living and thoroughly documented figure; his status and the question of his succession remain politically contested.