The road for Finding Dalai Lama.

The 14th Dalai Lama.

Dalai Lama is the title given by the followers of the Highest Spiritual leader in the Gelug school of Tibetian Buddhism. Though the word has much meaning, according to the incumbent Dalai lama in his Biography Freedom In Exile he interpreted the meaning as "Ocean of Wisdom". 


The origin of Buddhism dates back to 5th century CE when the young prince Siddhartha Gautama "The Buddha" renounced his aristocratic status and flew onto the road of enlightenment. Under a tree in Bodh Gaya, India he obtained enlightenment and thus started a new religion and today its one of the largest religions in the world. In the 21st Century, Buddhism was divided into many Schools or the Interpretation of many religious texts is per their history and the geography of scholars. The major schools are Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna. and some are the sub-schools and teachings of some monks 


Theravāda is also known as the teaching of elders or the school of elders. Its most of a conservative nature and focuses on the Interpretation of pali canon and some other pali literature. It does not accept the Mahayana sutras which have great importance as Chinese Literature. 
Mahayana also is known as the Great Vehicle derived from the Chinese Buddhist traditions which started during the empire of Han when Indian monks came to china and also Chinese Traders who learned the Religion while their stay in India.
Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism prominent in Tibet, Bhutan and some Himalayan regions. it focuses on use to Tantric materials and practices.


Tibetian Buddhism is more or less a combination of Mahayana and Vajrayana schools. It is too divided into four: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug. The practice of Dalai lama is in the Gelug school but its worshipped by all the other schools and parts of Buddhism. The Gelug school dates back its lineage to India from a Bengali Buddhist scholar.


The Dalai Lama although it is the Highest Authorative Position as we say in our words, The Election or selection of Dalai Lama is mostly secretive and the most compact process. The incumbent Dalai Lama decides his Reincarnation and after his death the findings of the new Dalai Lama are Started. Mainly it takes years to find one,The current 14th Dalai Lama was found after a period of about 4 years of extensive search operations in the whole region. The region for finding is mainly into the Tibetian and Chinese plateau but the Atheist Government of China makes it even difficult as they always want a leader of their own choice instead of the Tibetian traditions and method to make their reign in the occupied Tibet even stronger.


Before there was no Political authority of Dalai Lama, before the 5th Dalai Lama although the First couple of them were throned Posthumously there were no chances of giving them without knowing. Some think of the Reincarnation as the Reincarnation of Buddha but the Dalai lama refuses as their School of Buddhism doesn't allow them to renounce themselves. The main reason behind the reincarnation is also the Leftover deeds and Work which the Ex-Dalai lama could not do in its time.


It was the day of July 6th,1935 when a boy named Lhamo Thondup the 14th Dalai Lama was born into a small village of Takster, Tibet. Born to the Family of small Farmers who just owned a small piece of land and made themselves self-sufficient. With the typical stone and mud house with some animals tied towards the backside. During the period of his birth for several weeks his dad was confined to bed with illness, but on the day since he was born his dad started recovering showing the early symptoms of his legacy as Dalai Lama. 

    When Lhamo Thondup was about three years old, a search party was sent by the Tibetian government(the Chinese govt wasn't present there at that time in Tibet) to find the Reincarnation of new Dalai Lama who died in 1933 at age of fifty-seven. Many things were taken into consideration while finding the Reincarnation or as we call tulku in Tibetian terms. The Head of the previous Dalai lama during his death was found in the direction of south to north-east and the practice of looking into the waters of the sacred lake is seen in the Tibetian Buddhism which gives them some hint about the Reincarnation. The Tibetian letters Ab, Ka and Ma float into view along with an image of the three-storeyed monastery with a turquoise and gold roof and a path running from it to a hill. Finally a small house with strangely shaped guttering was seen. The letter Ab referred to Amdo and Ka referred to a monastery at Kumkum which was a three-storyed turquoise roofed. Upon reaching the hills they saw gnarled branches on the house of Lhamo Thondup and they stayed there but they revealed their purpose of life as just a stay for the night. That night the Leader of the Search party who pretended to be a servant played with the child and the child recognized him as 'sera lama, sera lama' 
Sera was the name of the monastery of the Search party Leader. 

   Next day the left to return in a few days with proper and formal deputation bringing things of the previous Dalai lama. They showed the belongings to the child and he identified them saying "its mine, its mine". More or less the search party was recognized by the boy as their Dalai lama. There came the unhappy period of the small kid of around four years. During the times where other children used to play and sleep, he was awakened by the rise of the sun, sometimes even earlier when he and his family were taken to KumKum monastery because of the problems caused by the governor. It was not time for his parents to leave him. Although his brother was in the monastery too he was new to the unknown surroundings and he wanted to be with his parents. In the summer of 1939 he left for Lhasa, the capital with his parents with a journey of about three months. He was welcomed with great enthusiasm and he spent the early childhood days in a monastery learning and to be trained by religious scholars.


Though the selection and the throne is also a long process in itself. He was declared as Reincarnation of The 13th Dalai Lama before and on his arrival in 1939 which full ceremonial and public declaration. As he was small in age and also as a monk too, he was deprived of full powers such as political. Every Dalai Lama brings some or other changes into the system which proves beneficial into the future. On the days of November 1950 when the Peoples Liberation Army started capturing the Tibetian Region in the name of "same motherland" the government officials thought that its high time the Dalai Lama to be Given his political powers and Enthroned fully. From that time onwards the Teenage Dalai Lama was considered to be asked upon advice on all the affairs by the Tibetian government and the Chinese Generals too. It was until 1959 when the situation was much escalated and he needed to live Tibet and live in India, the motherland of Buddhism as Refuge. The people of Tibet were much attached to Dalai lama emotionally, whenever he used to leave for China or somewhere else the people used to have teary-eyes and some used to cry until his return. Though with the help of CIA special divisions and the Indian Army, he left Tibet and Reached India and still lives in Mcleodganj.


The 14th Dalai lama in 2007 stated that the next Dalai Lama will be a woman, if a woman reveals herself useful as Dalai Lama then it will be her. There has been Criticism by the Chinese Government which declares themselves as atheists that the Next Dalai lama will be appointed by them. Also the Dalai Lama revealed that the next Reincarnation mostly will be from India and not from the Occupied Tibetian plateau. Also due to the interference of the Chinese Government into the Search parties and Selection process of the New Lama. China also said that it will declare it invalid if a Dalai lama is elected without its knowledge. Many religious scholars said that it's like "Fidel Castro saying that I will select the next Pope and the Catholics should follow."