Modi conveys wishes to Dalai Lama on his 88th birthday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his wishes to Buddhist monk Dalai Lama on the occasion of his 88th birthday on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, Modi posted that he was wishing the Buddhist spiritual leader a long and healthy life.

The 14th Dalai Lama, also known as Tenzin Gyatso, is considered a living Bodhisattva and an incarnation of  AvalokiteÅ›vara. He is the  highest spiritual leader and head of Tibet.  

Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935 into a farming family in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. Born as Lhamo Dhondup, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso after identifying some objects that belonged to the latter.

Dalai Lama was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, in honour of his “philosophy of reverence for all living things and the idea of a universal responsibility that embraces both man and nature."

There had been demands to honour the Dalai Lama with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. In 2019, 200 MPs, cutting across party lines, led by former Himachal Pradesh CM Shanta Kumar, signed a memorandum urging the Central government to award the Dalai Lama a Bharat Ratna.