According to Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, "We have the moral responsibility to watch over the world."
A simple monk as well as the spiritual leader of all Tibetans, the fourteenth Dalai Lama was driven into exile from Tibet as a young man. For fifty years, he has preached a message of peace and compassion that has been heard around the world. When he was still a young man, the menace of Communist China propelled him onto the political scene. It seemed clear that his destiny must be to fight for the freedom of his compatriots and for the safeguarding of Tibetan culture. His mission also has been one of meditation, transmitting hope and teaching spiritual Buddhism. His core beliefs, like those of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., involve love, compassion, nonviolence, and a vigilant commitment to truth.
This wonderfully engaging book consists of several parts: an eleven page comic strip about the Dalai Lama's life, a chronology, and twelve two-page chapters about different aspects of the Dalai Lama's life and Tibetan Buddhism. The book ends with a section of quotes both from the Dalai Lama and about him, followed by a list of recommended reading and an index.
Jean-Michel Billioud was born in 1964 in Marseille, France. He is a prolific author of juvenile fiction and nonfiction. He has written dozens of books over the past twenty-five years.
Judith Gueyfier was born in 1981. After receiving her degree in applied arts in Brest, and advanced degrees in Paris and Strasbourg, she began illustrating children's books in 2005. Her travels and travel notebooks nourish her graphic universe.
