The current Dalai Lama and his impacts
Buddhism originated in India and spread primarily through Asia. Now, it has become a worldwide religion, such as, the Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has already established many communities of immigrant Tibetans in California, Colorado, New York, Hawaii, Switzerland, France, and Great Britain. Also, museums regularly acquire and show Tibetan Buddhist art (Molloy, 2008). Why does Tibetan Buddhism draw so much attention at present? One of reasons is the current Dalai Lama who has a significant impact on the people around the world.
Who is “Dalai Lama” and why does he have such a significant impact on the people around the world? A religious reform movement emerged in Tibet in the fourteenth century, which came to be known as Gelug-pa. The Gelug-pa provided Tibet with its political leadership. The Dalai Lama is the executive head of the Gelug-pa (Molloy, 2008). In other words, the Dalai Lama is both the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people (Wieder, 1999). Meanwhile, Tibetan people believe that all the Dalai Lamas of Tibetan Buddhism are reincarnations of former Dalai Lamas. When a Dalai Lama dies, people will find and train the reincarnation (Sweet, 2009). People found the current Dalai Lama (the fourteenth Dalai Lama) in eastern Tibet (Molloy, 2008). He left Tibet in 1959 (Wieder, 1999), and thus his life was no longer limited in Tibet. This made many more people know Tibetan Buddhism and considerably improved his impacts on the people around the world.
There are three reasons why the current Dalai Lama has such a significant impact on the people around the world.
First, the repeated intertwining of religious violence keeps on existing in the world. Memories of past sufferings draw new generations into the cycle of violence. People have tried to impose unity through violent forms of discrimination and humiliation (Lefebure, 2005). Unlike those radical religious organizations, the Tibetan Buddhism often speaks out against aggression. Go through centuries of Buddhism, it has the tradition of rejecting violence. It encourages its followers to keep up the path of peace, both in their external behaviors and internal lives. Also, Tibetan Buddhism clearly refers to violence will harm the agent mentally. Therefore, cases of murder, suicide, self-sacrifice, warfare, and other types of violence will be seen as illegitimate within Buddhist discourse so long as they are carried out by people can undertake them with generating harmful mental attitudes (Maher, 2008).
Meanwhile, the current Dalai Lama points out if people believe they do not get what they want (even it is wrong); they often try to strike back to get even doing worse. Thus, he encourages people to refuse to strike back in anger or retaliation. His practice of nonviolence over many decades has witness to the Buddhism’s tradition of training the mind to overcome afflictive emotions (Lefebure, 2005). In summary, the current Dalai Lama’s attitude toward violence gives positive impacts on the people because most people want peace but not violence in their life.
Second, the current Dalai Lama points out, it is significant for people to understand the nature of interdependence among various religions. That is people should know differences among various religions. He refers to every religious tradition in the world has a complex and shifting relationship to its neighbor religions. In history, there have been many moments of borrowing, of learning, of critically appropriating practices of other religion’s paths and incorporating them into its own religion. He also refers to the great disaster of religious relationships is that people often have not been able to accept diversity among various religions, and thus result in conflicts which lead to misunderstandings, bias and prejudice, animosity and hatred (Lefebure, 2005).
Meanwhile, the current Dalai Lama has prudently cautioned not to be too quick to judging other religions. He uses the example of the Buddha who taught in different ways at different times to point out differences is inevitable. Also, he has proposed, “we can have a conception of truth that is multidimensional”. He believes that various religions share a common goal of “producing a human being who is a fully realized, spiritually mature, good, and warm-hearted person”; and the aim or purpose of each religion is the same: “to cure the pains and unhappiness of the human mind” (Lefebure, 2005). Therefore, there is not an insufferable gulf among various religions.
Moreover, the current Dalai Lama recognizes that there is such a wide diversity among people around the world. There is no one approach will be adequate for the distinctive needs of all people. In other words, no one religion can satisfy all the people’s needs. Therefore, he encourages people to enter into dialogue with other religious traditions. At present, the religious conflicts have divided many religious traditions and lead to a human being’s suffering around the world. Thus, the current Dalai Lama calls for a constructive competition, which is among the various religions for overcoming human suffering due to religious differences. He warns that setting up invidious comparisons that claim one religion is better than another is not of much use. If practitioners of each tradition genuinely strive to carry out the teachings of their respective heritages, however, all will benefit (Lefebure, 2005).
On the other hand, the current Dalai Lama has tried to understand the commitments and practices of other religions. He tries to relate other religions to his own religion. In particular, he challenges people to recognize the profound difference between Christian and a Buddhist worldview based on the interdependence. Also, he acknowledges many values that Buddhists and Christians share. Meanwhile, he refers to a critical combination of Buddhism and Christianity may benefit all the people (Lefebrue, 2005). The current Dalai Lama wishes people around the world to study religions from a vantage point. He hopes people not to limit them from awareness of their own beliefs. He also hopes nobody is to make a final judgment on the values and limitations of any one religion (Lefebure, 2005).
In summary, the current Dalai Lama has a significant impact on people because he gives useful perspective to people with equally respect religions. He encourages people to accept diversity among various religions. He also points out no religion is perfect which can satisfy everybody. People should be tolerant for others’ belief. His practice keenly is aware of the importance of metaphysical differences among various religions. Moreover, he opens to the wisdom and advantages of other religions. This is one of the imperatives should be encouraged to the world: “how to shape a healthy religious identity grounded in the resources of one tradition, respectful of the important differences among religious visions, while also remaining open to the beauty, goodness, and truth found in other religious paths” (Lefebure, 2005).
Finally, the current Dalai Lama has been showing the essence of Tibetan Buddhism compassion. The meaning of the Tibetan word for compassion is “connotes love, affection, kindness, gentleness, generosity of spirit, and warm-heartedness.” With these traits, one of Tibetan Buddhism’s compassion purposes is to move the sufferings of others. According to Tibetan Buddhism, sufferings involve more than having bodily or mental pain. Both failures to realize the possessions of something and loved ones are not as permanent as people are will cause sufferings. The current Dalai Lama points out permanence exist neither in that which people’s experience nor in people’s psychological processes. Because people and the things people experience are not permanent, any attempts to think of them as permanent are failure. Therefore, the search for permanence will lead to suffering and thus suffering is inevitable; and therefore, people need compassion for removing sufferings (Barad, 2007).
On the other hand, according to the current Dalai Lama, compassion also is “an attitude that not only wishes for others to be free of their suffering, but is also associated with a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards the other”. The current Dalai Lama insists that compassion engender the commitment, responsibility, and respect will impel people to help others if they can. A compassionate person is one who is happy to help others. The current Dalai Lama points out a compassionate person will develop a strong commitment to free others from suffering and its causes and to experience happiness. Also, the current Dalai Lama does not think only certain kinds of people will exercise compassion. It is clearly aware that anybody may exercise compassion (Barad, 2007).
The current Dalai Lama not only encourages everybody to be a compassionate person; but also he is a compassionate people. His compassion spirit is especially clear in children who are at The Tibetan Childrens Village (TCV). He found the TCV, providing modern education, along with understandings of the cultural heritage of Tibet to children. Also, the TCV helps children become self-reliant, contributing members of society and the world community (Wieder, 2000). In other words, the current Dalai Lama has been a model for people around the world as a compassionate man. He gives positive impacts on people around the world about what is compassion and encourages people to work for removing others’ suffering.
In summary, the current Dalai Lama’s attitudes toward how to deal with violence and diversity among various religions and his compassion all have given positive impressions on the people around the world. This significantly impacts people’s thoughts and actions; and may cause them to be kind, gentle and compassionate. Therefore, he has a significant impact on the people around the world.

References:
Barad, J. “The Understanding and Experience of Compassion: Aquinas and the Dalai Lama.” Biddhist-Christian Studies, 27 2007, p 11-29. ATLA Religion Database. EBSCO. Simon Fraser U Lib. 11 July. 2010.
Lefebure, L. “THE CONTRIBUTION OF H.H. THE XIVth DALAI LAMA TO INTERFAITH EDUCATION.” Cross Currents, 55 no 1 Spr 2005, p 83-89. ATLA Religion Database. EBSCO. Simon Fraser U Lib. 11 July. 2010.
Maher, D. “THE RHETORIC OF WAR IN TIBET: TOWARD A BUDDHIST JUST WAR THEORY.” Political Theology, 9 no 2 Ap 2008, p 179-191. ATLA Religion Database. EBSCO. Simon Fraser U Lib. 11 July. 2010.
Sweet, M. “The Devil's Stratagem or Human Fraud: Ippolito Desideri on the Reincarnate Succession of the Dalai Lama.” Buddhist-Christian Studies, 29 2009, p 131-140. ATLA Religion Database. EBSCO. Simon Fraser U Lib. 11 July. 2010.
Wieder, A. “The Tibetan Children’s Village: A Narrative-Photographic Essay.” Multicultural Perspectives, l(1), 18-23. Lawrence Eribaum Associates, Inc.