Here is a look at the life of his Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, spiritual leader of the people of Tibet.
Personal: Birth date: July 6, 1935
Birth place: Taktser, Amdo province, Tibet
Birth name: Lhamo Dhondrub, renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso
Father: Choekyong Tsering
Mother: Dekyi Tsering
Education: Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy), 1959
Other Facts: The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people.
This Dalai Lama, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatsois, is the 74th manifestation of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the enlightened Buddha of compassion.
Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling Gem, or simply Kundun - The Presence.
His Holiness has continuously emphasized the need to further democratize the Tibetan administration and has publicly declared that once Tibet regains independence he will not hold political office.
Has traveled to numerous countries with a message of religious and cultural tolerance and peace.
Winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
Timeline: 1938 - Is taken from his family in Taktser and taken to the Kumbum monastery after a delegation of monks looking for the new Dalai Lama find him.
February 22, 1940 - Enthronement ceremony takes place in Lhasa, Tibet.
November 8, 1950 - Chinese soldiers of the People's Liberation Army invade Tibet at Lhasa.
November 17, 1950 - Assumes full political power as Tibetan Head of State and Government almost 2 years ahead of schedule. Investiture is moved up from eighteenth birthday (was to be July 6, 1952) as a result of China's invasion of Tibet.
1954-1959 - Participates in unsuccessful peace talks in Beijing with Chinese leaders including Mao Tse-Tung, Chou En-lai and Deng Xiaoping. In 1959, the talks end when the Chinese army forces 80,000 Tibetan refugees into exile.
March 17, 1959 - Goes into exile; leaves Lhasa for India dressed as a soldier.
April 21, 1959 - Officially takes up residence in exile in Mussoorie, India.
1960 - Dharamsala, India, becomes home to the Dalai Lama and headquarters of the government-in-exile of Tibet.
1963 - Enacts a new Tibetan democratic constitution based on Buddhist principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
September 30, 1973 - Meets with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican, the first ever meeting of a pope and a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists.
May 1977 - The Chinese government makes the Dalai Lama a conditional offer, the opportunity to return to Tibet after acceptance of Chinese rule over Tibet. The offer is rejected.
August 3, 1979 - Arrives in the United States for a 49 day tour.
February 2, 1986 - Meets with Pope John Paul II in New Delhi.
September 1987 - Attends the Congressional Human rights Caucus in Washington, DC, and proposes a Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet's future.
1989 - Shares the Nobel Peace Prize with Mikhail Gorbachev.
April 16, 1991 - White House meeting with George Bush, the first ever between the spiritual leader and a president of the United States.
May 6, 1993 - Meets with President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore at the White House.
September, 1995 - Tours the United States urging government involvement with talks with China over Tibetan autonomy.
March 27, 1997 - Meets with President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan in Taipei.
December 25, 1997 - Disney, through Touchstone Pictures, releases the biopic "Kundun," directed by Martin Scorsese.
November 10, 1998 - Requests assistance in opening official negotiations with China regarding the future of Tibet at a meeting of senior government officials in Washington, DC, including President Clinton. The Dalai Lama says that the distrust between himself and China is too great to re-open the talks.
May 2001 - Meets with President George W. Bush, Congressional leaders and Secretary of State Colin Powell, among others in Washington, DC.
2002 - Speaks out against China, stating that China should embrace democracy if the country is to be a major world power in the coming years. - He also criticizes the United States-led war on terrorism, saying that the use of force to override terrorists overlooks the underlying problems that lead to terrorism.
September 2003 - Begins a 16-day tour of the U.S. in San Francisco. Other cities include New York, Boston, Bloomington, Indiana and Washington DC, meeting again with President Bush and Colin Powell.
September 19-22, 2004 - Tours south Florida and gives a series of public and private lectures on peace and religious and cultural harmony. Lecture sites include Miami University and Florida International University.
November 8, 2005 - Meetings with President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington.
September 11, 2006 - Receives honorary Canadian citizenship in a ceremony held at Vancouver's GM Place Stadium.
