It started with mass killings and the loss of independence and has resulted in over 150 self-immolations in the last 15 years and the slow erasure of a cultural identity.
At the dead center of the 20th century, Tibet was an independent nation built around a peaceful buddhist tradition with a teenage leader-in-training, the young 14th Dalai Lama. But on Oct. 7, 1950, the Chinese invasion began — and it changed everything.
The Dalai Lama has lived an extraordinary life. Believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be the 14th reincarnation of the Bodhissatva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet, he started his rigorous study of the complex religion he was destined to lead at age six. In public appearances, those who approach the sage 89 year-old in his flowing red and yellow robe often bow before him.
Read Full Article »