His Holiness the Dalai Lama devoted himself entirely for the wellbeing of others: Speaker

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) organised a celebration to commemorate the 34th Anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama, in the courtyard of the Thekchen Choeling Tsuglakhang (Tibetan Main Temple) in Dharamshala, HP, India, on December 10, 2023. Top CTA officials and hundreds of Tibetans gathered to celebrate the event. Magnificent dances performed by dancers from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Tibetans and Tibetan students were presented to the dignitaries and those present at the event.

Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, read out the statement of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile on 34th Anniversary of Nobel Peace Prize Conferment on His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama," On this momentous occasion of the 34th anniversary of that great event, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile wishes to pay solemn homage to His Holiness for His kindness with joy, faith and sense of gratification on behalf of all Tibetans in Tibet and in exile, greeting Him with infinite utterances of words of auspiciousness and wellbeing.

"He assumed temporal and spiritual leadership of Tibet of great weightiness at a time when the situation in the country was such that it was teetering on a critically endangered interregnum which threatened its very survival. Ever since that moment, His Holiness has devoted himself entirely for the wellbeing of others in general, but particularly after coming into exile he committed himself to helping and benefiting people across the world by means of promoting and reviving, as the case may be, the culture of the Tibetan people with its great potential to serve humanity.

"For this purpose, He relied solely on the method of non-violence based on the profound Buddhist religious teachings and Mahatma Gandhi’s principles while directing His efforts towards realizing the just cause of Tibet. Furthermore, acting on the basis of mutual respect, friendship, fairness, and kindness, His Holiness has made fruitful positive contributions while making efforts directed at helping to resolve international conflicts, promote human rights, and protect the natural environment with the aim to achieve meaningful peace and wellbeing across the world. His marvellous efforts in these endeavours have earned him admiration from people all across the world, and it led to Him being honoured with the global renown of the Nobel Peace Prize.

"His Holiness has travelled to countries and regions across the world in order to carry out deeds of unsurpassable merits. That is why even to this day, prominent people as well as others from everywhere across the world – East as well as West – irrespective of the question of whether or not they are believers in the Buddhist religion, keep coming to Dharamshala to meet with Him and seek His guidance whenever they can find the opportunity. He treats them all without any attitude of favouritism or partiality while interacting with them with compassionate concern and providing them with the nectar of His words of advice. These have had great transformative effects on the mental attitude of many people, leading to positive developments in their day-to-day lives and enabling them to adopt an approach to helping other living beings. His engagements in activities directed at helping others in these and numerous other ways in efforts directed at ensuring the wellbeing of all sentient beings have proceeded like the continued waxing of the moon to attain a level of fullness where He has come to be recognized as a champion of world peace. Not only that, His Holiness has also become an eminent leader who is greatly admired and held in high esteem by people and organizations in countries across the world, both in the East and West.

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama frequently reiterates that He has dedicated His life to carrying out four principal commitments: The first is to make efforts to realize the commonality of the happiness of all human beings by means of promoting human values; the second is to promote harmony among the different religions; the third is to uphold, preserve and impart Tibetan culture and spirituality; and the fourth is to restore classical Indian culture and secular ethics in conjunction with modern education. We all should engage in studying these four commitments with the objective of internalizing and adopting them in our day-to-day conduct on the basis of the ideas and guidance provided by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is the best grand offering of gratitude we can make to please him."

Sikyong Penpa Tsering, read out the Kashag’s Statement on 34th Anniversary of Conferment of Nobel Peace Prize​ to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his extraordinary leadership in advocating world peace and promoting universal values for a happy life. His Holiness accumulated all these qualities based on his consistent and exemplary practice of compassion and altruism from a very young age. The Award was also in recognition of the Tibetan people’s steadfast commitment to the non-violent freedom struggle under the guidance and visionary leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama has emphasised that the practice of compassion and wisdom is useful to all of humanity, especially to those responsible for running national affairs, in whose hands lie the power and opportunity to create the structure for a peaceful world. His Holiness has also emphatically stated over and over again that every human being wishes to live peacefully without conflict and hatred. His Holiness has also reiterated that problems can be successfully resolved with a clear and calm mind; whereas hatred, jealousy, and anger cloud our sense of judgment," Sikyong said.