His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama
Gyatso in 2012
14th Dalai Lama
Reign	22 February 1940 – present
Predecessor	Thubten Gyatso
Regent	Lobsang Sangay as Sikyong (political functions) previously Kalön Tripas Lukhangwa Lobsang Tashi Jangsa Tsang Zurkhang Ngawang Gelek Shenkha Gurmey Topgyal Garang Lobsang Rigzin Kunling Woeser Gyaltso Wangue Dorji Juchen Thupten Namgyal Kelsang Yeshi Gyalo Thondup Tenzin Tethong Sonam Topgyal Lobsang Tenzin Lobsang Sangay
Head of state of the Central Tibetan Administration
In office	1959–2012
Predecessor	New creation
Successor	Lobsang Sangay (as Sikyong)
Director of the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region
In office	1956–1959
Predecessor	New creation
Successor	10th Panchen Lama (acting)
1st, 2nd Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress
In office	15 September 1954–21 December 1964 Exile to India in March 1959
Born	Lhamo Thondup (1935-07-06) 6 July 1935 (age 89) Taktser, Amdo, Tibet[1][2]
Father	Choekyong Tsering
Mother	Diki Tsering
Religion	Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug school)
Signature

Buddhism
Basic terms
Three Jewels Four Noble Truths Dukkha Suffering Samudaya Cause of Suffering Nirodha Cessation of Suffering Magga Noble Eight Fold Path Buddhahood Enlightenment Nirvana
People
Gautama Buddha Dalai Lama Bodhisattva Sangha
Schools
Theravada Mahayana Zen Vajrayana Nyingma Kagyu Sakya Gelug
Practices
Dharma study Noble Eightfold Path Meditation Chanting Metta
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The Dalai Lama /ˈdɑːlaɪ ˈlɑːmə/^[3][4] is a religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He is its highest spiritual teacher of the Gelugpa school. A new Dalai Lama is said to be the reborn old Dalai Lama. This line goes back to 1391. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso.

Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government. During the winter, the Dalai Lamas stayed in the Potala palace. In the summer they lived in the Norbulingka palace. These two palaces are both in Lhasa, Tibet. In 1959, the Dalai Lama had to escape from Tibet to Dharamsala, India. This is still his base to this day.

Dalai Lama is the title of the Tibetan Buddhism leader. "Dalai" is originally from Mongolian which means "ocean" and "Lama" is original from Tibetan which means "the highest principle". In 1653, during the Qing Dynasty, this title was authorized to Dalai Lama V by the Chinese Emperor for the first time.

The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, expelled all Chinese civilians from the country, and instituted many measures to modernise Tibet.^[5] These included rules to curb excessive demands on peasants and tax evasion by the nobles. He set up an independent police force, abolished the death penalty, extended secular education, and brought electricity tto the city of Lhasa in the 1920s.^[6] Thubten Gyatso died in 1933.

The 14th Dalai Lama was not formally enthroned until 17 November 1950, during the People's Republic of China invasion of Tibet (1950–1951). Fearing for his life, he fled to India where he has led a government-in-exile since.^[7][8] With the aim of launching guerrilla operations against the Chinese, the Central Intelligence Agency funded the Dalai Lama $1.7 million a year in the 1960s.^[9] In 2001, he gave up his absolute power over the government to an elected parliament of selected Tibetan exiles. His original goal was full independence for Tibet, but by the late 1980s, he was seeking high-level autonomy instead.^[10] He is still seeking greater autonomy from China, although Dolma Gyari, deputy speaker of the parliament-in-exile has stated "If the middle path fails in the short term, we will be forced to opt for complete independence or selfdetermination as per the UN charter".^[11]