Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet
Buddhist
Born in 1935 in Tibet and enthroned in the Tibetan palace of Lhasa at the age of five, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama. He was raised and taught by monks. In 1959 he completed his studies with the Tibetan equivalent of a Ph.D. in Buddhist philosophy. From 1949 to 1959 he endured the Chinese occupation of Tibet but in 1959 he fled in secret to Dharamsala, India where he was allowed to set up a government in exile. He has lived there ever since, working towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict with China. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.
Photos from In God's Name
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Spiritual Leaders
- Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Orthodox Church
- Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), a Hindu spiritual leader
- Pope Benedict XVI, head of the Roman Catholic Church
- The Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists
- Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim leader
- Bishop Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and President of the Lutheran World Federation
- High Priest Michihisa Kitashirakawa, Daiguji (Shinto Priest) of the Grand Shrine of Ise
- Rabbi Yona Metzger, Chief Rabbi of Israel, Ashkenazi
- Dr. Frank Page, President of the Southern Baptist Convention
- Imam Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, Sheikh of Al-Azhar and a prominent Sunni Muslim leader
- Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the Sikhs' highest authority
- Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England