Dalai Lama
Spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are believed to be enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as “a simple Buddhist monk.”