Statement of Tibetan Parliament on His Holiness 78th Birthday

Dharamshala: Today is a uniquely important day for it marks the birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the Bodhisattva Chenrezig who has descended to this earth in human emanation, the spiritual lord of the Three Realms of dwelling, a champion of world peace, the master on this earth of all the teachings of the Buddha, the saviour of all the Tibetans, and a leader treasured by all and excelled by none.

For the sake of all the sentient beings in general terms and especially for the benefit of the sentient beings of the Snowland of Tibet, His Holiness took birth on the 5th day of the 5th month in the Wood-Pig Year of the 16th Tibetan Royal Sexantry, which corresponded to the 6th day of July 1935, in the village of Tagtser in the Kumbum area of the Tibetan province of Domey. He was born to parents of excellently endowed lineage and blood amid numerous wondrously auspicious signs and omens. On such a completely auspicious day as today, we offer our greetings and obeisance to His Holiness with unflinching devotion of body, speech and mind. At the same time we pray ardently, and with great strength of commitment, that His Holiness, the sacred saviour of all sentient beings so numerous as to fill the sky above us, in general terms and, especially, with the people of the Snowland of Tibet, and a great champion of world peace, live for as long as a hundred aeons. We also pray that His Holiness, on that basis, indebt us with the ambrosia of His sound guidance on the basis of the clarity of His vision over the three time realms and in such continuous manner as the flow of the steady summer stream.

Having committed to make the sentient beings of the Snowland of Tibet the object of His spiritual deliverance, His Holiness took birth in such numerous human forms as kings, ministers and Bodhisattvas, and accomplished various vast deeds for the benefit of the Buddhist faith. Since the time of the Great Fifth, successive reincarnations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have assumed both spiritual and temporal leadership of Tibet and exercised responsibility over its sentient beings with great sense of authority. In particular, His Holiness the great 14th Dalai Lama assumed his temporal and spiritual leadership of Tibet when He was only 16 years old. After having done so, He set out to reform the old system of Tibet. And He also underwent multitudes of hardships through various creative and compassionate efforts in dealing with communist China.

After arriving in India in exile, He set up the basic structure of a government in exile afresh and in the course of it presented to the Tibetan people a democratic system whereby a Tibetan parliament in exile was set up in 1960. Later in 1963, He proclaimed a democratic constitution for a future free Tibet. In 1991, He took other measures, such as raising the strength of the Tibetan parliament in exile, and transformed it into a genuine legislative body. He later gave his assent to the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile which had been passed by the Tibetan parliament in exile. Further, in order to complete the process of full democratization of the Tibetan system in exile and on the basis of discerning the numerous immediate and long term potential problems and purposes, His Holiness has now transferred all his political and administrative powers to the leadership in exile elected by the Tibetan people. By such and numerous other means over the last more than 60 years, His Holiness has taken up with spontaneous diligence an array of tasks that entailed a multitude of hardships on him for the immediate and long term well being and benefit of Tibet and the Tibetan people.

Even after having transferred his political and administrative powers to the elected Tibetan leadership in exile, His Holiness has, as prayed to, graciously assented to assume the role of the Protector and Symbol of Tibet and the Tibetan people. In that capacity He has undertaken to offer counsel on any religious or political issue concerning the Tibetan people, as well as to provide suggestions to the Tibetan Parliament in exile and the Kashag on important matters of politics and religion as and when He sees it necessary to do so. This undertaking extends also to meeting with and holding discussions with important international leaders and personalities on behalf of Tibet and the Tibetan people. In keeping with the undertakings He has given very kindly on matters such as these, His Holiness continues to assume great responsibilities on behalf of the Tibetan people. There is no way we the Tibetan people can claim to be in a position to repay over a hundred lifetimes even a tiny fraction of the enormous gratitude we owe to His Holiness. Nevertheless, we, acting on behalf of Tibetans both in and outside Tibet, and with a solemn body, speech and mind obeisance, make it a point to express our gratitude to His Holiness, if only to make it clear that out indebtedness to him will remain in our hearts without ever being forgotten. At the same time, we pray with utmost intensity of devotion that for as long as the sky above us remains, His Holiness continue to hold the misery afflicted people of the Tibetan Land of Snows in compassion and extend to them as before His beneficial deeds.

It especially bears mention that through lectures and guidance on compassion, tolerance and universal responsibility for the benefit of all the sentient beings of this world, His Holiness continues to assume great responsibility to bring peace upon the entire humanity. He also continues to take it upon himself to seek to inculcate ethical values in everyone, irrespective of the question whether one believes in any religion or not, for the benefit of humanity in general and for the purposes of protecting the global environment. In an effort to bring about harmony among the different religions in this world, His Holiness has held discussions with numerous leaders of different religious faiths with an approach of broadmindedness and liberalism and has thereby also sought to dispel doubts and to deal with the differences among them. In particular, His Holiness has taken great responsibility to ensure a coexistent march between Buddhism and modern science with each side benefiting from the other through an appreciative understanding of each other's respective strengths and weaknesses. By such means as above, His Holiness has undertaken, and continues to undertake, political and spiritual deeds of enormous dimensions, becoming a source of merits of enormous value to the sentient beings of this world and a worthy source of sublime contentment to them.

In conclusion, we pray that His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for as long as a hundred eon, that all His sacred wishes be fulfilled with spontaneity, and that the just cause of the Tibetan people may definitely see the light of the day as soon as possible.