Dharamsala: The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation on Wednesday launched a seven-volume series titled ‘Greatness of Spirit’ in the presence of the Dalai Lama to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the award presented to the Tibetan spiritual leader.
In August 1959, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of “his leadership of the Tibetan community’s gallant struggle in defence of the sacred religion that is the inspiration of their life and culture”.
Susanna B. Afan, President of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, launched the seven-volume series at the Dalai Lama’s residence in the hill town of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh in the presence of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, selected partners, and Indian laureates.
On April 26, 2023, the Dalai Lama was presented the 1959 Ramon Magsaysay Award personally by the members of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation after 64 years at his residence.
The Nobel Peace laureate, known for his simplicity and jovial style and for whom Mahatma Gandhi was the most influential leader of the 20th century for his idea of non-violence, prefers to participate in meetings with religious leaders, and lectures students and businessmen on ethics for the new millennium and the art of happiness.
In 2007, the Dalai Lama received the US Congressional Gold Medal, even in the face of protests by China.
Born on July 6, 1935, at Taktser hamlet in Tibet, the Dalai Lama was recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.
He fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, basing his government-in-exile here that never won recognition from any country.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called the ‘Nobel Prize of Asia’, is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay’s example of integrity in governance, courageous service to people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.
The prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York with the concurrence of the Philippine government.
–IANS
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