Dalai Lama (The Dragon Splits)

Dalai Lama (Standard Tibetan：ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་，Chinese: 达赖喇嘛) is a title given to spiritual leaders of the Tibetan people. They are monks of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism  founded by the son of an official of the Yuan Dynasty of China, Je Tsongkhapa. The Dalai Lama title was created by Altan Khan, Shunyi Wang under the Ming Dynasty of China in 1578. The Dalai Lama has always been an important figure of the Gelug tradition. Although finding dominance in Central Tibet, the Dalai Lama has been an important figure beyond sectarian boundaries. The Dalai Lama figure is important for many reasons. Since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama his personage has always been a symbol of unification of the state of Tibet, where he has represented Buddhist values and traditions. The Fifth Dalai Lama was granted a golden seal of authority and golden sheets for the exercise of leadership over Buddhism under the heaven by the Shunzhi Emperor of China.

The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso. He has been living in India as a refugee since 1959, after military forces from the People's Republic of China crushed the Tibetan Uprising in that same year. The PRC does not recognize the Dalai Lama as the head of Tibet, instead appointing their own ethnic Han Chinese Dalai Lama that is loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. His escape to India was aided by the CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD) paramilitary teams and CIA-trained Tibetan rebels (part of the CIA Tibetan Program). 14th Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. He has traveled the world and has spoken about the welfare of Tibetans,environment, economics, women's rights, non-violence, interfaith dialogue, physics, astronomy, Buddhism and science, cognitive neuroscience, reproductive health, and sexuality, along with various Mahayana and Vajrayana topics. In 2015, as a new Tibetan Uprising occurred (part of the ongoing Chinese insurgency), the Dalai Lama has praised the brave Tibetan rebels in fighting for their independence despite his stance on non-violent resistance. The 14th Dalai Lama currently remains in relative safety in India, for his safety, on the request of the Central Tibetan Administration and the Indian government.