Explain the contribution to the development and expression of Buddhism of ONE significant person or school of thought, drawn from the Dalai Lama

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to explain how one significant person or school of thought contributed to the development and expression of Buddhism. This page uses the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, one of the most commonly studied figures. You must show both his concrete contribution (what he has done) and his ongoing impact on Buddhist belief, ethics and practice. Treat Buddhism accurately and respectfully. This is the significant person component of the Buddhism depth study, examined in both Studies of Religion I and II.

The answer

Who the Dalai Lama is

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. In the Tibetan tradition he is regarded as a reincarnation in a line of teachers and as a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Recognised as a child, he was both the religious and, until his retirement from politics, the temporal leader of the Tibetan people. After the events of 1959 he went into exile in India, where he established a community and continued to lead his tradition from outside Tibet.

His contribution to the development of Buddhism

Leadership in exile

From exile the Dalai Lama preserved and reorganised the institutions of Tibetan Buddhism, supporting monasteries, the training of monks and nuns, and the transmission of texts and teachings that might otherwise have been lost.

Bringing Buddhism to a global audience

Through extensive teaching, writing and travel, he introduced Buddhist ideas to people across the world, making Tibetan Buddhism one of the most recognised forms of the tradition outside Asia.

Dialogue with science and other faiths

He has engaged in sustained dialogue with scientists, especially on the mind and meditation, and with leaders of other religions, presenting Buddhism as compatible with reasoned enquiry and interfaith respect.

His contribution to the expression of Buddhism

Compassion as the centre of practice

The Dalai Lama consistently presents karuna (compassion) and loving-kindness as the heart of Buddhism, teaching that the purpose of practice is to reduce suffering for all beings.

Non-violence

Drawing on the Buddhist commitment to ahimsa (non-harming), he has advocated a non-violent response to the situation of the Tibetan people, an approach recognised internationally.

Engaged Buddhism

He models a Buddhism that engages with the modern world, human rights and the environment, showing how the tradition's ethics apply to contemporary problems.

Continuing impact

The Dalai Lama's books, public teachings and example have shaped how millions of people, Buddhist and non-Buddhist, understand Buddhism. His emphasis on compassion, non-violence and dialogue has strengthened the global presence of the tradition and influenced engaged Buddhist movements that apply Buddhist ethics to peace, human rights and the environment. He remains, for many adherents, the living embodiment of the tradition's central value of compassion.