Statement for the 90th Birthday of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama
The Parliament of the World’s Religions extends our heartfelt best wishes and reverent greetings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the occasion of his 90th birthday on July 6. We express our profound gratitude with highest honor to His Holiness for all that he has done for peace, justice and care for the Earth in a lifetime of dedicated and courageous service.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 “for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.” His commitment to peace, nonviolence and human dignity has been unwavering through the years.
The Dalai Lama has been a pillar of the Parliament of the World’s Religions since our centenary Convening in Chicago in 1993, when his address in the open-air closing plenary was attended by 20,000 people. He has spoken in person at our Convenings in Cape Town in 1999 and Melbourne in 2009 and has participated remotely in others. No person living today has done more for the interfaith movement in upholding the vision that all faith traditions can live and work together in harmony, devoted to shared values.
His Holiness has also been a leading voice for protection of the environment and on the climate crisis. In a message in 2018 to the UN Climate Conference (COP 24) he stated, “As someone born in Tibet, the rooftop of the world, where Asia’s great rivers rise and the world’s highest peaks are to be found, I have loved nature since my childhood. I have made environmental conservation one of my life’s commitments…Climate change is not the concern of just one or two nations. It is an issue that affects the whole of humanity and every living being on this Earth…We have to take serious action now to protect our environment and find constructive solutions to global warming.”
The teachings of His Holiness on peace, compassion and an ethics of “universal responsibility” are more relevant than ever in our times of war, injustice and destruction of the environment. As we celebrate his birthday with deepest gratitude and respect, we call on all people to heed these teachings as we strive for a world of peace, justice and sustainability for all people and all sentient beings.
