Grammy Awards 2026: Dalai Lama wins first Grammy, says 'grateful for recognition'

At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, the Dalai Lama made history by winning his first Grammy Award for Best Audiobook, Narration, and Storytelling Recording. The win came as part of an evening full of achievements across 95 categories. The spiritual leader joined K-pop and Steven Spielberg as first-time winners.

The Dalai Lama's Grammy was for his piece, Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which offers a series of meditative insights, paired with music and meaningful messages. The recording is available across all most online platforms, including YouTube, Amazon Music, and Spotify.

Dalai Lama on his win

Reacting to his win, The Dalai Lama posted on X that he receives the recognition with gratitude and humility, considering it as not "something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility."

"I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I’m grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely," he said.

Notably, other nominees in the mentioned category included Kathy Garver (Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story), Trevor Noah (Into the Uncut Grass), Ketanji Brown Jackson (Lovely One: A Memoir), and Fab Morvan (You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli).

The Grammys are voted on by nearly 15,000 music industry professionals, including performers, songwriters, producers, and other creators who hold recording credits and are members of the Recording Academy. The 95 award categories are organised into 12 fields, with six belonging to the general field and the remaining grouped by genre.