His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet turns 84 on July 6. After fleeing Tibet in 1959 he lived as a refugee in the hill station of Dharamsala, India, and since the early 1970s he has traveled extensively across the world.
His maiden visit to Australia was in 1982 and he has since come to Australia 10 times, often inspiring spiritually and sometimes courting controversy. Here are some of the more notable events from his time Down Under.
1982: The Dalai Lama’s maiden visit to Australia
48-years-old Dalai Lama speaks at a retreat center in Granada, Spain in 1982, the same year he visited Australia. Source: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
1992: The first Australian PM meets the Dalai Lama
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The Dalai Lama returned to Australia in 1992, but by then he had received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for advocating peace and freedom through non-violence, based on Buddhist philosophy.
He had garnered a huge international following, and Australians were no exception. Despite his visit being solely driven by delivering religious teachings across seven major Australian cities, the Dalai Lama ended up meeting the then Prime Minister, Paul Keating. The Prime Minister stated that he was meeting the Dalai Lama to acknowledge his prominence as a “religious figure” and a “distinguished Nobel Laureate”.
1996: The First Kalachakra initiation in the Southern Hemisphere
The Kalachakra (‘Wheel of time’) is one of the most significant and elaborate Buddhist teachings conferred by the Dalai Lama. Towards the end of 1996, the Dalai Lama gave such a teaching at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. It was the first ever Kalachakra initiation in the Southern Hemisphere. To date, there have been 34 Kalachakra initiations, the first two of which were held in Lhasa, Tibet prior to the Dalai Lama’s escape to India in 1959.
2007: PM John Howard meets the Dalai Lama amid warnings from Beijing
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The Dalai Lama made a series of visits to Australia in the 2000s due to increased interest among Australians in his teachings and public talks. His 2007 visit made headlines in particular, as then Prime Minister John Howard decided to meet with the Dalai Lama despite staunch opposition from China. Howard had met the Dalai Lama during his earlier visit in 1996 but didn’t meet him in 2002.
2011: The Dalai Lama appears on MasterChef Australia
Dalai Lama poses with Masterchef Australia judges during his guest appearance on the show in 2011 Source: Network Ten
In 2011, the Dalai Lama surprised Australia with a special appearance on hit reality TV cooking show MasterChef. He tasted the food cooked by the contestants but refused to make any comments, stating that he has limited knowledge about fine dining and that it is against his principles to prefer one dish over another.
2013: University of Sydney criticised for changing Dalai Lama speech plans
During his ‘Beyond Religion: The benefits of living ethically’ speaking tour in 2013, the Dalai Lama was invited to give a lecture at the University of Sydney, but an investigation by ABC’s 7.30 program revealed that the planned talk was moved off-campus due to pressure from China.
The University of Sydney was heavily criticised for apparently compromising academic integrity in the face of political pressure, despite being one of Australia’s more prestigious universities. In the end, the talk went ahead at Seymour Centre with about 800 students in attendance.
2015: The Dalai Lama's historic visit to sacred Uluru
Dalai Lama meets local aboriginal community in Uluru, 2015 Source: AAP
During his most recent Australian visit in 2015, the Dalai Lama visited the sacred site of Uluru in Northern Territory. He paid his respect to the elders of the Anangu people and interacted with the local Aboriginal community. The Dalai Lama also highlighted the importance of protecting Indigenous culture and language in Australia and across the world.
“In different parts of the world, Indigenous people, local people, they have their own cultural heritage, so that's the main reason I am here, in order to express my respect to your culture,” he said at the time.
