<p>Large crowds began to assemble since morning at the Tsuglagkhang temple to join the birthday celebrations. "Special prayer sessions were held for the well-being and long life of the Dalai Lama," Thubten Samphel, a spokesperson for the government-in-exile, told IANS.<br /><br />"His Holiness attended the prayers and blessed his followers from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, also attended the function," he added.<br /><br />The hilltop Tsuglagkhang temple is close to the official palace of the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj here. A group of Chinese from Australia greeted the Nobel Laureate on the occasion. Meanwhile, the Kashag (Tibetan cabinet) prayed for the Dalai Lama's long life.<br /><br />Born July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a small hamlet in Taktser in Amdo province in northeastern Tibet, the two-year-old child, earlier named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, in 1937.<br /> <br />He fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, basing his Tibetan government-in-exile here. The Dalai Lama has favoured "greater autonomy" for Tibetans rather than complete independence.<br /><br />Though he has expressed his willingness to go back to Tibet and resolve the complicated Tibetan issue by agreeing to an autonomous Tibetan set-up under Chinese control, Beijing has shown no inclination to oblige him. Chinese leaders have, in fact, called him a 'splittist' - one who wants Tibet to secede from China.<br /> <br />In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for Tibet. He got the US Congressional Gold Medal in October 2007, even in the face of protests by China. <br />The Dalai Lama, despite his age, continues to travel throughout the world, meeting presidents, prime ministers and rulers of various countries and giving his teachings on Buddhism.</p>
<p>Large crowds began to assemble since morning at the Tsuglagkhang temple to join the birthday celebrations. "Special prayer sessions were held for the well-being and long life of the Dalai Lama," Thubten Samphel, a spokesperson for the government-in-exile, told IANS.<br /><br />"His Holiness attended the prayers and blessed his followers from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, also attended the function," he added.<br /><br />The hilltop Tsuglagkhang temple is close to the official palace of the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj here. A group of Chinese from Australia greeted the Nobel Laureate on the occasion. Meanwhile, the Kashag (Tibetan cabinet) prayed for the Dalai Lama's long life.<br /><br />Born July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a small hamlet in Taktser in Amdo province in northeastern Tibet, the two-year-old child, earlier named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, in 1937.<br /> <br />He fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, basing his Tibetan government-in-exile here. The Dalai Lama has favoured "greater autonomy" for Tibetans rather than complete independence.<br /><br />Though he has expressed his willingness to go back to Tibet and resolve the complicated Tibetan issue by agreeing to an autonomous Tibetan set-up under Chinese control, Beijing has shown no inclination to oblige him. Chinese leaders have, in fact, called him a 'splittist' - one who wants Tibet to secede from China.<br /> <br />In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for Tibet. He got the US Congressional Gold Medal in October 2007, even in the face of protests by China. <br />The Dalai Lama, despite his age, continues to travel throughout the world, meeting presidents, prime ministers and rulers of various countries and giving his teachings on Buddhism.</p>
