In March 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama left the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in the dead of night to flee from Mao Zedong’s communist regime. Over the course of the next seven decades, the Dalai Lama has inspired generations of Tibetans in exile, as first the political, and then the spiritual, leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
Born with the name Lhamo Dhondup on 6 July 1935, the Nobel Peace Prize winner has become synonymous with his stateless people’s struggle in exile, and the arrival of his 90th birthday this month has left many of his followers considering what will happen after his death.
