Dalai Lama turns 90: PM Modi extends wishes; calls him ‘a symbol of love, compassion and patience’ | India News

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, on his 90th birthday. He called him a symbol of “love, compassion, patience and moral discipline.”In a post on X, PM Modi prayed for the Dalai Lama’s good health and long life.Tibetan Buddhist monks living in exile held special prayers at the Dorjidak Monastery near Shimla to celebrate his 90th birthday.Several leaders, including BJP’s Vijay Jolly and JD(U)’s Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, attended his 90th birthday celebration on Saturday in Dharamshala to honour him.The 14th Dalai Lama, known to Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche, is their highest spiritual leader and the head of Tibet.He was born on July 6, 1935, in the small village of Takster in northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, he was recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1939, he was taken to Lhasa and formally installed as Tibet’s head of state in February 1940.His birth name was Lhamo Dhondup. He was later named Tenzin Gyatso and began his monastic education at age six.“Dalai Lama” is a Mongolian term meaning “Ocean of Wisdom.” In Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lamas are seen as the human form of the Bodhisattva of compassion, enlightened beings who are chosen to take rebirth and help others.The Dalai Lama took full political power in 1950 after China invaded Tibet in 1949. In 1959, after a failed uprising, he fled to India with over 80,000 followers.For more than 60 years, he has worked to promote peace, love and compassion.