Dalai Lama’s Autobiography: Freedom in Exile

Running head- PSYCHOLOGY
Dalai Lama’s autobiography, Freedom in Exile
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1PSYCHOLOGY
Table of contents
Psychobiography........................................................................................................................2
Life Grid.................................................................................................................................2
Timeline.................................................................................................................................4
Situational analysis for writing the autobiography, Freedom in Exile.......................................4
Methods of wisdom to be adapted in modern schools and universities.....................................7
Critique of the autobiography..................................................................................................10
Application of psychological theory of wisdom on the Dalai Lama.......................................11
References................................................................................................................................14
Appendix..................................................................................................................................15

2PSYCHOLOGY
Psychobiography
Life Grid
Originally known as Lhamo Thondup, Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935 in
Taktser, China. He belonged to a peasant family. Lhamo Thondup was the fifth of the 16
children, seven of whom encountered the tragic fate of death. The government conducted
many searches for the successor to the 13th Dalai Lama. This was followed by several
spiritual signs, which ultimately ended the search through the location of Lhamo Thondup
(Lama, 1990). At the age of 2, he was identified as the reincarnation for the 13th Dalai Lama,
Thubten Gyatso. Young Lhamo was renamed as Tenzin Gyatso, who was proclaimed as the
14th Dalai Lama. He received religious education at the age of 6. His subjects were logic,
Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine and Buddist Philosophy. At the age of 11, he came
in contact with Heinrich Harrier, an Austrian mountaineer, who taught him about worldly
experiences (Lama, 1990).
At the age of 15, he stepped into the political sphere. It was the same year in which
the People’s Republic of China invasion occurred. Concerned about assassination, he along
with thousands of followers, fled to the threshold of Dharamsala, India. Here, he established
another government. Since then, Dalai Lama executed many tasks for establishing an
automonous government within Tibet (Lama, 1990). He was the head of the state and
spiritual leader of the Tibetan government. According to the Tibetans, he was the
reincarnation of his predecessors. In 1954, he went to Beijing for having peace talks with
Mao Zedong and other leaders. In 1959, consistent suppression of the Tibetan people by the
Chinese troops led to their uprising (Lama, 1990).

3PSYCHOLOGY
Dalai Lama is known as a political activist, who strived for making Tibet an
independent and democratic country, unleashing it from the shackles of China. He took part
in various conferences, lectures and workshops on humanitarian grounds. In the era of 1989,
he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Due to gall stone surgery, he was compelled to
announce his retirement. For People’s Republic of China, Dalai Lama was a symbol of an
obsolete religious movement, deviant from the communist philosophy. Chinese government
considered him to be a separatist and a traitor. The major drive behind this is advocating
against the Tibetan self-rule. Igniting the spark of Tibetan rebellion attached the tag of
terrorist to the personality of Lama (Lama, 1990).
In 1960, Lama provided full support to Central Intelligence Agency for training the
Tibetan forces for resisting Chinese invasion and occupation. In 1963, Lama drafted a
constitution for Tibet, which consisted of several reforms to stabilize democracy in the
government. September 1987 was the time when Dalai Lama proposed the Five Point Peace
Plan for Tibet (Lama, 1990). This was the initial steps to indulge in alliance with the Chinese
government. In 1988, Dalai Lama addressed the members of European Parliament in
Strasbourg, France. There, he proposed talks between China and Tibetans for establishing
self-governing democratic political entity (Lama, 1990).
Dalai Lama was the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Adopting Boddhisatva
helped him todedicate his life towards serving humankind. His masterpieces discussing
engagement with wisdom, compassion and environment sustainability adds to his personality.
Unlike his predecessors, he came in contact with Western leaders on many occasions. His
oratory skills enhance his charismatic leadership. He was always concerned about peace and
compassion for the people. When he travelled abroad, his main concern was understanding
and respecting different cultures and faith (Goleman, 2015).