A significant person in Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama: HSC Studies of Religion

Criteria (NESA 2025 marking guidelines, SoR I Q12(c), SoR II Q23(c)). 7: a thorough evaluation of how ONE significant person or school of thought provides direction for a meaningful life for Buddhist adherents, clear and relevant evidence, integrated terminology. 5 to 6: a sound evaluation. 3 to 4: an explanation. 2: an outline. 1: general statements about Buddhism. (NESA's "answers could include" used Asoka; the Dalai Lama is equally valid.)

Plan using the 14th Dalai Lama.

1. Direction through compassion. He presents compassion (karuna) and warm-heartedness as the core of a meaningful life: "We all want happiness and do not want suffering" (his first commitment, dalailama.com).
2. Direction through inner peace. "Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility" (Nobel lecture, 1989).
3. Direction through practice. Teachings on the bodhisattva path, meditation and mind training; public teachings and initiations for Tibetan and global audiences.
4. Direction through example. Nonviolence in exile ("truth is the only weapon we possess"); "universal responsibility" for the planet.
5. Evaluate. Wide reach and credibility (Nobel Peace Prize 1989), but his secular ethics can be seen as diluting Buddhism; Tibetan Buddhism is one tradition among many, and his authority is not recognised by the Chinese state or by some groups (the Dorje Shugden dispute).

Source: NESA, 2025 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

Criteria (NESA 2024 marking guidelines, SoR I Q17, SoR II Q28). 17 to 20: a comprehensive and accurate analysis of the impact of ONE significant person or school of thought on Buddhism, integrating the statement effectively throughout, with detailed and accurate information and terminology. 13 to 16: accurate analysis, statement integrated. 9 to 12: some analysis. 5 to 8: general statements. 1 to 4: general statements about Buddhism.

Plan using the Dalai Lama.

1. Agent of change: exile and democracy. Fled in 1959; rebuilt monasteries and schools in India; the Charter of Tibetans in Exile; devolved political power in 2011, ending the Dalai Lamas' temporal role.
2. Enriching the faith. Compassion, emptiness and the bodhisattva ideal taught to global audiences; modern science added to the monastic curriculum in exile.
3. New forms of expression. Dialogue with neuroscience (Mind and Life, from 1987); secular ethics for non-Buddhists; interreligious harmony; environmental "universal responsibility".
4. Analyse limits. Chinese state opposition; the Dorje Shugden controversy; critics who see Western "export Buddhism" as simplified; the succession question (his 2 July 2025 statement that the institution will continue).
5. Judgement with the statement's three phrases integrated.

Source: NESA, 2024 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

Criteria (NESA 2023 marking guidelines, SoR I Q12(c), SoR II Q23(c)). 5: an accurate and detailed explanation of how the contribution is evident in Buddhism today, clear and relevant examples, integrated terminology. 4: accurate explanation. 3: an explanation with some examples. 2: general statements. 1: general statement(s) about Buddhism.

Model points (Dalai Lama).

1. Tibetan Buddhism survives in exile: monasteries re-established in India (Dharamsala is his base) and Tibetan centres worldwide, including in Australia.
2. Monastic education includes modern science, a change he introduced.
3. Buddhist ideas in public life: compassion training and meditation research through the Mind and Life dialogues.
4. Leadership: an elected Tibetan leadership since 2011, and his 2025 statement that the Gaden Phodrang Trust alone will recognise his reincarnation.

Source: NESA, 2023 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

Criteria (NESA 2022 marking guidelines, SoR I Q12(c), SoR II Q23(c)). 6: an accurate and detailed explanation of the contributions of ONE significant person or school of thought on encouraging people to be "the community now", integrating the stimulus with clear and relevant examples. 4 to 5: accurate explanation using the stimulus. 2 to 3: some explanation. 1: relevant statements.

Model points (Dalai Lama).

1. "Be a lamp for yourselves". He urges Buddhists to study and test the teachings with reason rather than rely on faith alone, and calls himself "a simple Buddhist monk".
2. "The community now". He rebuilt the Tibetan sangha in exile and democratised its administration (elected parliament, 1990; elected leader, 2001; full devolution, 2011).
3. A wider community. "Today, we are truly a global family" (Nobel lecture): universal responsibility and interreligious harmony extend community beyond Buddhism.

Source: NESA, 2022 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

What earns 6 marks (NESA 2021 marking guidelines, SoR I Q12(b), SoR II Q23(b)): a detailed and accurate explanation of impact with specific evidence and terminology.

Model points (Dalai Lama).

1. Preservation: Tibetan Buddhist institutions and teaching lineages re-established in exile after 1959.
2. Globalisation: Tibetan Buddhism became one of the most visible forms of Buddhism in the West through his teaching tours (more than 67 countries) and more than 110 books (dalailama.com).
3. Engagement: compassion and nonviolence applied to politics (Nobel Peace Prize 1989), science (Mind and Life) and the environment.

Source: NESA, 2021 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

Criteria (NESA 2020 marking guidelines, SoR I Q17, SoR II Q28). 17 to 20: a sustained and reasoned judgement on the extent to which ONE significant person or school of thought has assisted adherents by showing them the path, with detailed and accurate information and integrated terminology. 13 to 16: a reasoned judgement. 9 to 12: some detail in a descriptive response. 5 to 8: general statements. 1 to 4: statements about Buddhism. (NESA's sample used Thich Nhat Hanh.)

Plan using the Dalai Lama, organised by the stimulus's four marks of a mentor.

1. Restraining from wrongdoing: nonviolence; the precepts; ethics grounded in not harming.
2. Guiding towards good actions: compassion, forgiveness and universal responsibility.
3. Telling what one ought to know: public teachings on emptiness and the bodhisattva path; his books.
4. Showing the path: the Noble Eightfold Path and the Mahayana bodhisattva ideal, lived publicly.
5. Extent: very great for Tibetan and Western Buddhists; less direct for Theravada Buddhists in Southeast Asia, who follow their own teachers.

Source: NESA, 2020 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

What earns 7 to 8 marks (NESA 2019 marking guidelines, SoR I Q12(b), SoR II Q23(b)): a detailed and accurate judgement on the extent, with clear evidence and integrated terminology.

Plan using the Dalai Lama, organised by the verse.

1. "Not to do any evil": nonviolence even towards those who harmed Tibetans ("They too are human beings who struggle to find happiness and deserve our compassion", Nobel lecture).
2. "To cultivate good": compassion, forgiveness, tolerance and self-discipline as universal human values.
3. "To purify one's mind": meditation and mind training; inner peace "is the key".
4. Extent: great, through example and teaching, though limited by political conflict and by differences between Buddhist traditions.

Source: NESA, 2019 HSC Studies of Religion examination and marking guidelines.

After fleeing to India in 1959, the Dalai Lama led the preservation of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. From Dharamsala he supported the re-establishment of monasteries, nunneries and schools, so that teaching lineages and texts that might have been lost in Tibet continued, and he added modern science to the traditional monastic curriculum.

Marking: 1 for the contribution, 1 for accurate detail, 1 for its effect on Buddhism.

The bodhisattva ideal

As a believed manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, he embodies the Mahayana aim of attaining awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Compassion and interdependence

His teaching that "we are all basically the same human beings, who seek happiness and try to avoid suffering" and his call to "universal responsibility" (Nobel lecture, 1989) express karuna and dependent origination.

Wisdom

His teaching of emptiness in the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna, studied in his Geshe training.

Nonviolence and inner peace

"Inner peace is the key" expresses the Buddhist teaching that the mind is the source of suffering and of peace.

Marking (Original): 5 for three beliefs accurately linked to his teachings, with evidence.

Criticism

Some scholars and Buddhists argue that his "secular ethics" and his popular books for Western readers present a simplified Buddhism, stripped of rebirth, ritual and monastic discipline, to suit modern audiences.

Response

He teaches traditional philosophy and ritual to Tibetan and Buddhist audiences (for example Kalachakra initiations and teachings on Madhyamaka) and distinguishes this from universal human values offered to everyone; he argues that compassion needs no religious belief.

Other criticisms

Some practitioners object to his discouragement of the Dorje Shugden practice; the Chinese government rejects his authority and claims a role in choosing his successor.

Judgement

The criticism shows his influence has two audiences; within Tibetan Buddhism he remains a traditional teacher, while his wider impact is as a global voice for Buddhist ethics.

Marking (Original): 5 for an accurate criticism, a fair response, and a judgement.

Judgement

The Dalai Lama's contribution is the preservation and globalisation of Tibetan Buddhism and a modern expression of Buddhist compassion in public life; it is very significant, though concentrated in the Tibetan tradition and contested politically.

Development

Rebuilding Tibetan Buddhist institutions in exile after 1959; democratising the Tibetan administration (1990, 2001, 2011); adding science to monastic education; affirming the continuation of his institution (2025).

Expression

Compassion, universal responsibility and inner peace; interreligious harmony; the Mind and Life dialogues; environmental concern (the first Nobel laureate recognised for concern for global environmental problems, dalailama.com).

Limits

Chinese state opposition; the Shugden controversy; criticism of simplified "Western" Buddhism; limited direct influence on Theravada Buddhism.

Marking (Original): 7 for development and expression both evidenced, limits weighed, and a clear judgement.