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D

DALAI LAMA. Dalai is Mongolian for
“Ocean” and Lama means teacher or
guru, so the full title refers to a teacher
with a spirituality that is as deep as an
ocean. Tibetan Buddhists believe that
the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of a
bodhisattva, of which there have been 14.
The original incarnation of the Dalai
Lama, Gedun Drupa, was born in 1391.
Tenzin Gyatso, born in 1935, is the 14th
Dalai Lama.
Each time a Dalai Lama dies, a new
one must be found. Traditionally, the
direction in which the Dalai Lama’s head
falls when he dies is the direction the
monks should search for the next rein-
carnation. If the Dalai Lama is cremated,
sometimes the direction of the smoke
indicates the direction of the next rein-
carnation. After consulting with the
Oracle (a man who is an advisor to the
Dalai Lama), the monks begin their search,
which can sometimes take up to four
years. The reincarnation, however, is born
within two years after the death of the
previous Dalai Lama. Typically, the search
for all of the Dalai Lamas has been in
Tibet, but the 14th Dalai Lama has said

that it is possible he will be reincarnated

outside of Tibet if it is in China’s control.

The High Lamas, in charge of finding

the Dalai Lama, first go to Lhamo Lhatso

Lake to receive a vision of where to begin

the search. When they find the boy they

believe is to be the next Dalai Lama,

they give him a series of tests, including

identifying the past Dalai Lama’s artifacts

out of a set of identical objects. If

multiple boys equally pass the tests, the

High Lamas put the boys’ names in an

urn and a name is drawn out in public.

The 14th Dalai Lama says that as a child

looking through the Potala Palace, where

he was educated in the Tibetan Buddhist

tradition, he recognized the rooms and

the objects in them from his previous life,

although he says he has no memory of his

previous lives as a whole.

When the Dalai Lama is discovered,

he almost immediately begins his

training. He is educated in logic, Tibetan

art, Tibetan culture, Sanskrit, medicine,

Buddhism, poetry, music, drama, astro-

logy, phrasing, and synonyms. He is

allowed to receive gifts from his family

and see them. The 14th Dalai Lama’s