November

The Dalai Lamas

Chris Hatchell, Associate Professor of Religion
November 14 & 21

The Dalai Lamas are a series of Buddhist teachers (lamas) who ruled Tibet from the seventeenth century up through the modern era. When one Dalai Lama died, a search party would be sent to find the child who was his reincarnation. That child would then be brought back to Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and would eventually resume his former position. The current Dalai Lama, the 14th in this line, has lived in India since 1959 when China’s invasion of Tibet overturned Tibet’s government. The Dalai Lama’s exile brought him to the world stage; he has become one of the world’s foremost Buddhist advocates for nonviolence, human rights and religious dialogue. This two-week forum presented by Associate Professor of Religion Chris Hatchell, offers an introduction to histories and ideas of the Dalai Lamas. The first session will introduce reincarnation theory, including defining what a tuklu (reincarnate teacher) is, how reincarnate teachers are chosen and how a government searches for the reincarnation of its deceased leader. We will then explore some history of the Dalai Lama institution, focusing on the most politically powerful of the Dalai Lamas (the 5th and the 13th) and the 6th Dalai Lama, who famously declined to take political power and is remembered as a poet. This session will also include discussion of China-Tibet relations in the modern era, including the 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) and his efforts to lead Tibet out of China’s control and to reform the Tibetan government. In week two, we will focus on the present (14th) Dalai Lama, surveying his religious and political views, exile following China’s invasion of Tibet and fight for human rights and meaningful autonomy within China. We will conclude with some speculation about the future of the Dalai Lama institution.