In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others.

The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.

For certain periods of time between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female.

The Chinese communist government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only they have the authority to select the next Dalai Lama, despite being an officially atheist nation.

The 14th Dalai Lama, born July 1935, is the current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years (Lama, 1990). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Dalai Lama has used fasting in a polictial and spiritual sense. In October of 2011, he fasted and led prayers to honor nine Tibetans who set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule. Beijing authorities then criticized the Tibetan spiritual leader's support as inciting "terrorism in disguise" (as cited in Wong & Olesen, 2011).

During the 90-minute-long service at the Dalai Lama's Tsuglakhang Temple in the northern Indian town where he lives in exile, he focused on the monks and a nun who self-immolated in early 2011 in a Tibetan area of western China that was under martial law (Wong & Olesen, 2011). A number of the protestors died after setting themselves on fire. During th event, the Dalai Lama called for a day-long hunger fast and prayer service. Monks and nuns, school students, local Tibetans and other supporters were in attendance.

A failed uprising in 1959 led the Dalai Lama to flee into exile in India. He was quoted in the New York Times (2011) as saying, "I am a simple Buddhist monk, no more, no less" (p. 1).

(Photo Credit: Cyril Hou / Shutterstock.com)

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