Last night July 18, 2010 was a night to remember as Kechara hosted a charity dinner and auction in aid of Kechara House and Kechara Soup Kitchen. Held at the Sunway Lagoon Hotel, the event featured a variety of performances throughout the evening, as well as the silent and open auctions to raise funds for our new gompa and the Kechara Soup Kitchen building.

It was a night of fun for everyone, thanks to all the members and friends who worked very hard to make the event a huge success. Many of my students have been working round the clock for days to prepare for last night, and I thank them for their hard work, effort and dedication.

Please see the photo-story below, giving you blow-by-blow account of the evening's events and watch out for the video coming soon on YouTube.

 

The foyer area of the Sunway Hotel ballroom was set up in grand style, with large display panels promoting the theme of the evening, WORLD PEACE

Many guests arrived early to take in the various offerings from the many departments of Kechara, as well as to view the auction items which were on display

The auction items, beautifully displayed and presented

Representatives from Kechara Care were on-hand to tell the guests more about Kechara. Here's Ethan looking resplendent in an Indian outfit Ethan is such an intelligent and bright young man. It is a pleasure to have him with us.

James from Kechara Care speaks to Celebrity Liz from Astro's Jia Yu channel

 

The Kechara World Peace Centre scale model was extremely popular among the guests…

 

…who were keen to learn more about what would be available at KWPC! 

The displays from Kechara's many departments stretched the length of the foyer

 

As the main beneficiary of the event, Kechara House's booth attracted a lot of attention with guests asking questions about pujas and kids education classes

Kechara Soup Kitchen was the other beneficiary and their booth educated the public about the plight of the homeless and underpriviledged in Kuala Lumpur

Kechara Discovery wow-ed the public with stunning pendants and jewellery

In fact, their booth was so popular that it stayed open throughout the duration of the dinner, with customers dropping by non-stop to view their latest collection of pendants

Kechara Paradise's booth was also extremely busy throughout the night

   

Kechara Media & Publications displayed a wide range their products including many books of Rinpoche's teachings…

… and their most recent book – the Tsongkhapa box set!

Close by was Kechara In Motion, with Ms Han manning the booth…Ms Han is tv show producer. She is such a nice grounded lady. 

… while Chris from Kechara InMotion was filming the entire event! 

Liz from Jia Yu channel was one of the many media representatives at the charity dinner auction, interviewing Julia Tan, the vice-president of Kechara Soup Kitchen…

… and Datuk May Phng, the President of Kechara House

  

Special kiosks displaying excerpts from my blog were set up along the entire hall way…E-division crew worked super hard on this kiosk and it's designs. Fantastic!!

…and these kiosks were extremely popular with the public!

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(Click here to watch the blog video or watch below:)

Just before the dinner commenced, guests shout WORLD PEACE!

The celebrity hosts of the evening were Owen Yap and Hoong Jia Hui

 

Seated at the main table (from left to right): 

Henry Ooi – Director of Kechara Paradise

Sharon Saw of Kechara Media & Publications

Ruby Khong – President of Kechara Soup Kitchen

Datuk Dr. Victor Wee – the Patron of Kechara Soup Kitchen

Datuk May Phng – President of Kechara House

Datin Ng – Executive Committee Member for Kechara World Peace Centre

Phng Li Kim – CEO of Kechara Media & Publications

Paul Yap – Head of Kechara Discovery and Kechara Saraswati Arts

 

President of Kechara House, our esteemed Datuk May Phng gives the opening speech. Datuk is an elegant, successful, and highly intelligent lady who is very passionate to help others. She has a heart of gold in all sense of the word!! Great Speech!! I am honoured to work with such a grand lady. My prayers for you, your husband Siang, family and all your loved ones always.

 

… which was followed by a moving video about Kechara

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(click here to view the video on Youtube or watch below)

First up was a lucky draw for a 29in LCD television, with the winning ticket drawn by KMP CEO Phng Li Kim. 

And the winner is….David Lai of KMP! Yes, David won the first lucky draw!!!

 

Dinner is served – vegetarian of course! Wow!!!! Kechara does everything with style, prestige and class. Fantastic!!!!!!

 

  

Part 1 of the open auction – a South Sea pearl necklace, sponsored by Julia Tan, vice-president of Kechara Soup Kitchen

 

… and a jade and diamond necklace, also sponsored by Julia

  

The next performance was by the Kechara Talents – first was the Wannabe Girls performing to the smash hit "Nobody" by the Korean group Wondergirls… all the people who did the show are Kechara House members and students. Amazing talents within Kechara House and its 13 Departments. So much talent within our organization..I am so proud of our people. I encourage everyone to show their talents. Modern day dharma doesn't have to be stuffy or boring. Have fun on the way to Enlightenment!!!

 

The Wannabe Girls!

 

Bryan of Kechara Care! Everyone thought it was Linda Evangelista walking on stage, but it was just our good ol' hardworking Bryan!! Bryan is young, talented and hardworking.

 

Chia of Kechara Paradise! Chia finally became who he wants to be…a SUPERSTAR!!! Chia is my long time student and has gone with me thru thick/thin. He is amazingly loyal and faithful. He is my student, friend, family and confidant for more than a decade now.. I love my wonderful Chia and wish him all happiness and spiritual attainments. You did a great show!

 

Joe Ang, regular Kechara volunteer! His wife was watching in the audience..hehe..I'm sure Joe will be doing more and more dharma work and dedicate the merits to his beloved wife and daughter.

Eric Choong, celebrity fashion designer! Yes, Eric is a well known designer with a wonderful book out. Eric does what he says and keeps his promises. Very entertaining person. I enjoy Eric so much.

Peter Hoh, regular e-Division volunteer!

Strike a pose! Yes, these are my dharma students…heeheh…I love them!!

  

Kecharian talent doesn't end there – next up were the Swank Legs..and they brought the house down. They were so funny and hysterical. It was really a wonderful show. You must watch the video.

 

From left to right: Allan Lee of KMP, Nicholas Yu of Kechara Care, Albert Ratchaga of Kechara Paradise and Thierry Janssens of Kechara Education

The black swans followed the white! 

From left to right: Lim Tat Ming – KH administrator, Ngeow Voon Chin of Kechara Education, Wan Wai Meng of e-Division and Wong Kok Thai of Tsem Ladrang!

 

Allan Lee of KMP is super funny and super cute…hehehe

Albert Ratchaga of Kechara Paradise who is just a star salesperson in our outlets. He is caring, intelligent and very knowledgeable. He really takes the time to answer questions.

Thierry Janssens of Kechara Education who is such a hard worker and wonderful dharma student. I enjoy working with him.

The next auction was for an antique Green Tara thangka, which I kept for a long time

and a White Tara statue with Swarovski crystal offerings

  

Bidding was fast and furious for these two items – we had many spotters strategically stationed throught the entire ballroom. Our dinner was packed with so many special guests….

A magic show by Johnson Lau was well-received by the crowd – before the auctions resumed again

 

The 3ft Dzambala statue was extremely popular…

…as well as a Dzambala wealth vase beautifully done up in Kechara Saraswati Arts Dept.

  

Auctioneers Margaret Lee who choreoghraphed the show and Dino Goh did a fantastic job being the MC's…

 

…and the dinner guests were extremely forthcoming and generous

 
   

Salamiah Hassan entertained the guests with her rendition of Malay and English songs

 

The final lot of items for auction was a 4ft Long Life Tsongkhapa statue…

…and an exquisite gold-plated Medicine Buddha statue

Judges had to select the winners for the best-dressed guest according to the 1Malaysia theme

 

Stella Loh won the Best-Dress female award…

… and  sweet Ethan Chu took the prize for Best-Dressed male!

   

The Wannabe Girls returned on stage for a final encore. Can you imagine, these 'girls' are all my students and they rehearsed alot for this show. Congratulations to them. They are beautiful in all the ways!!

 

and the swans came along for the show. They sure know how to have fun!

  

The grand finale and encore had the guests in stitches, laughing and dancing along

 

Let's dance! Henry Ooi and his son Edward

The white swan hardworking Nicholas Yu and his supportive wife, Josephine

 

It was a night to remember for everyone involved

 

Kechara House members come from all walks of life. My students and friends are very hardworking, dedicated and also spiritual. But being spiritual DOES NOT MEAN WE CANNOT HAVE FUN. Kechara Members or Kecharians are spiritual but they can still be who they are. In my centre I make sure we practice dharma, work hard and have a great time doing it all.

This wonderful dinner was planned months ahead. And all 13 depts were involved in the success of this dinner one way or another. The Departmental liaisons/staff/student/volunteers and friends made it into such a successful evening.

The shows put on by our people made people really laugh until their mascaras were smeared. Great!

I congratulate everyone in KECHARA who worked for months to make this happen. I did not attend on purpose, because I want to show Kecharians that they can do it on their own. And they did. I humbly fold my hands to everyone for making such wonderful event come true. I am so proud of everyone and we are getting great self training to make KWPC happen.

My love, prayers, gratitude and deep appreciation to all Kecharians and our special guests that made this dinner event so spectacular!!

Tsem Tulku

 

 

  

 

 

  
  
Whether we are working in a place for the next 1 year, 10 years, 100 years isn't the issue. The issue is while we are working there, we treat everyone, and our work as if we are going to be there for a hundred years. Why? Because wherever we work, we are working with other PEOPLE. People have feelings, impressions, can be happy and can be hurt. Hence when we are working there, we should never think, these people don't matter, I am just here for a short time so it doesn't matter what they think.  But we should think, while I am here I AM GOING TO MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY. I am going to be kind to everyone. I am going to make everyone like me and I am going to like them. Then wherever we go, we create respect, love, care and good feelings from others towards ourselves. That is so important as it will affect other areas of our life.

We may plan this or that for the next 30 years but we can die tonight. Everyone in between is insignificant or just a stepping-stone to get where I want would be a bad attitude to have. Because whether we live 30 years more or 30 hours more, it is WHAT we create in our environment which is of the ultimate importance. Do we create distrust, laziness, irresponsibility and dishonor? Or the environment we create is trust, responsibility, kindness and integrity? Whether we live long or not is out of our hands, but what we do during that time is in our hands. Life is much more than getting ahead at the expense of others. Getting ahead in life is fine, creating a happy, trusting, caring environment along the way IS MOST IMPORTANT.

If we use people and a place as a stepping stone..we lose everyone's respect and we lose respect for ourselves. We may get the money and material items, but when we lose respect for ourselves, then we become bitter and unhappy. Even angersome eventually. That would not be a good result for all the hard work. Hard work must result in happiness of the mind not just material gains. HAPPINESS FOR OTHERS AND OURSELVES IS THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF WORK AND CAREER WE SHOULD SEEK. A happiness that brings zero harm to others.

1. Doing work in such a way that others don't need to correct us, or push us to meet the deadline is such a wonderful way to give back to others in the office. Free love to them.

2. Helping another member of our team to finish their work, or cover for them in emergencies without agenda is a nice spiritual way to live.

3. Never backbite about other people in our team. We have issues, talk it out in a pleasant manner with the attitude to solve the problem but not to win. Winning is not everything. Sometimes you can win, but lose everything in the process. Talk to iron things out is the best motivation. Never create schism or insinuate. Make peace and harmony.

4. Be honest. Come when you are supposed to and leave when things are done… Never leave your work for others to cover for you. You send a message to people that you haven't any integrity. Integrity is the basis of trust. When you create trust in people's mind, you create a harmonious attitude and environment. Everyone enjoys harmony.

5. Buy lunch, a birthday card, a snack, a drink and stuffed toy for others in your team from time to time. Soup when their sick.  Be caring with eachother. Don't think of the office as just a place to get as much freebies and money as you can. But a place to share, give and return kindness too. When? Whenever necessary.

 

6. We all have personal problems that we bring to work sometimes and we can't help it because it disturbs us. So if we have reacted negatively to someone because of it, apologize from the heart when you have calmed down. Bringing our problems to work is an inevitable, but apologizing from the heart is wonderful. Apologies do not make you lose face in the long run. In fact, it helps you to gain face.

7. Sure your quitting time may be for example 6pm, but if there's work, finish it and support your team. If you run out, after a while people feel you are not with them and then eventually they will not be with you. Teamwork is not about the work, it is about how you make others feel when you finish the work and not leave it to them. It's called caring and compassion.

Work and play are not different when your work makes a huge difference in other people's lives. The concept of work and play being different is applicable sometimes but not in all circumstances. There are times when we go to 'play' after work AND it becomes work. For examples being stuck in traffic, your friends cancel appointments, overcrowded loud shopping malls, relationships that drag us down, being with people who are totally into themselves, getting to a party that is totally not happening or meeting people who are not for real. These are some scenarios that play time becomes worse than 'work' time.

The purpose of work is to support ourselves so we can do activities that make us happy. But if our work is such a nature that it brings others happiness, then we are priviledged to work in such a job and it is not really a job. Hence we should not treat it as work or job in the traditional sense of the word. Because helping others bring happiness to ourselves so that is not work. Hence timing is not the issue anymore. It's about giving it your all, and getting alot back as a result.

How can you make a cut off time when you are happy and others are happy because of you? Think deeply about that. We are being paid to bring others happiness. How can that be work?  Bringing happiness to others will bring happiness to ourselves. Of course having said that, we would like to meet with friends, go karaoke, walk in the park, pujas, retreats, a drive, shopping after 'work' sometimes and THAT IS FINE. The point here is that if you have the good affinity to work in a organization/job that benefits others, don't treat it as work. Don't treat it as a job. It is much much much more than a career. It is better than any career you can ever have. Careers give us money and a sense of purpose hoping that will bring happiness. But money and  false self purpose doesn't ever bring happiness. Check it out. A job that brings purpose and satisfaction is something that enriches the lives of others SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM. Having a job like that is not a job. We should never view it as so. We should think our job is actually happy time or enjoyable time.

8. Are we lucky enough to work with people that give to us, share, generous, supportive, loving, kind, and always there to talk to us? Then why is being with these people considered being at work? It looks like enjoyment to me. Sometimes people at 'work' turn out to be better than people we have at home, our partners, even long time friends. Why do we label people at work, just work mates? They can turn out to be super-duper, loyal, loving friends. Even better than people we have labelled our partner or friends. Many instances of that.

We have to change our perspective. Sometimes we bring all our problems from our friends, relationships and home to work. We make our work mates listen to us, console us, be there for us, but we give nothing back. When it's 6pm, it's quitting time and we are gone!! People outside of work bring us problems, and people at work solve it for us. It sounds like the people at work ARE OUR REAL FRIENDS sometimes. Check it out. Sometimes we feel happier with the people at work than outside of work. True? It can be true. We have to ask ourselves, why don't we do more for our work mates? Why do we do more for people outside of work? Because one is labelled for fun and the other is for work? That is wrong perception if we examine it closely. What do we do for others at work? How much do we share or give or do we just take. People at work give us the livelihood to spend it on ourselves and friends. And if your workmates are wonderful group of people on top of livelihood, they also give you friendship, love, understanding, an ear at times, advice, support and care. Don't we have a ethical and humanistic attitude to return that? Of course we do.

9. Just because we didn't go to school with them when younger, or have intimate relations with people at work does not mean they are not worth our time, energy, evenings and weekends. Remember, when we see it as 'sacrifice' of our evenings or weekends with these people at the office is when we label it work. But how come when we go with friends/partners, it is not a sacrifice of our free time? Because our view is wrong. Whether the people that support us and care for us are at work or outside work is NOT THE CRITERIA. The criteria is that these people HELP ME..and it just so happens they are from work. So when I hang out with these people in the office or outside beyond my 'working hours', it is not work, but it is with friends and enjoyable… THAT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER.

 

 

If we want to get ahead, we have make our priorities more important. If we have a passion for painting, but we don't set time aside for it, then how to be recognized for it or accomplish it. If we are into relationships that get us nowhere, movies, food, gossip, dancing, or very protective of our attachments and not willing to let go of anything to accomplish a bigger goal, then a bigger goal cannot be achieved. Being in some sort of job or work and not going all the way will lead to disappointment. We have to go all the way in whatever job we are in. We have to think that whatever we do, must be the best we have done.

10. It 's important to not always expect support in the office. The office may have some project or whatever going on, we must make sure we attend. It gives the whole office a feeling of solidarity, support and loyalty. Whether at home or at the job, we should go all the way. Don't treat others according to our own labels. We should treat them for who they are without being judgemental but with discernment. Judging and discerning seems similar but differentiated by motivation.

If work and free time is made into such a distinction like the ex-berlin wall, then you will not treat the people at work as they deserve especially if they are good people. This is not always the case, but it can be. You treat the people at work as work and subtly you send a message that they are not worth you maybe. Just a thought… In general look carefully and see who is with you…

Work and workmates should not always be viewed as having a cutting off time. When the whistle blows..bye bye! Remember, see where your friends really are. Who is there for you and give you words of wisdom. Remember their kindness whether it is at work or home.

Tsem Tulku

Cynthia is an important member of our E-division headed by Liaison Beng Kooi. Cynthia is quiet, hardworking, dedicated and sticks to schedules. She sleeps very little, eats little and produces alot. She is very petite and soft spoken. You wouldn't even know she is in the room, but that does not mean she is overlooked. She makes herself shine through her work. She is important just like everyone else.

She is intelligent and creative. She does alot of our E-division graphic designs. She can work non-stop when a project needs to meet a deadline.  Very professional. She never complains or makes 'funny' faces, but just gets the work done!! I am amazed about that. She fits the E-team very well.

Recently she has donated these pillows to the chill-out room in E-division. I am happy for her because it is always nice to give to what you are doing. To share with the people you work with everyday. It's important to share with others at work. You spend so much time with them, so why not make better relations with everyone at work.

I am happy for Cynthia to be generous and share with the fellow people she works together with every single day.

Tsem Tulku

Heart to Heart with Teresa Hsu, 112
 
 
" My wish is to smile throughout my life,.."
" Everybody is a brother and sister .."
" My religion is LOVE …"
 
Teresa Hsu is 112 years old !

 

Laughter is the best medicine: Hsu sharing a joke with the audience during the talk.
 
 ………… ……… ……… …   
 
All collections will be donated to Teresa Hsu's 
Heart to Heart program to help needy aged people.
____________
The Star Online > North
Tuesday January 26, 2010

The power of laughter

By K. KASTURI DEWI Photos by K. E. OOI

CENTENARIAN Teresa Hsu kept some 200 people in stitches during her talk on ‘Love All Serve All’ at the Malaysian Buddhist Association hall in Penang last Friday.

For the bubbly Chinese-born Singaporean, who is affectionately known as Singapore’s Mother Teresa, laughter is definitely the best medicine.

Born in 1898, the 112-year-old social worker extraordinaire keeps young and active by happily doing charity work.

Kicking off the question and answer session, Hsu, who was accompanied by her friend Sharana Rao, said she was born “very, very poor” and the toughest part of her life was when she had to pick grass to eat as she was “very, very hungry”.

 

Pearls of wisdom: Hsu (third left) answering a question from the audience. With her are Rao (second right) and Loh (second left).

“It was at that moment I thought to myself that no one should ever go through what I went through,” she said.

When asked the secret to her longevity and good health, Hsu responded, “Ha, ha, ha! Make sure your heart is always happy”

.

She also said eating one raw egg every day for breakfast could be another reason for her good health.

“Once someone told me that raw egg is poisonous to which I replied ‘never mind, I thrive on poison’,” she said.

Hsu, who was born in Swatow, Guangdong Province, China, attended school only at 27. She ran away to Hong Kong when she was 16 to escape an arranged marriage.

Having witnessed the suffering of the wounded during World War II, she recognised a calling to serve and at the age of 47, managed to convince the London Nursing College to accept her as a mature student.

She subsequently travelled around Europe to help the sick and needy and was even invited by German Jewish refugees to work in a hospital in Paraguay.

In 1961, Hsu arrived in Singapore to care for her ailing mother and founded the Home for the Aged Sick in Singapore. She has since made the republic her home.

In 2005, Hsu received the Special Recognition Award from the Singapore Government in recognition of her contribution to the country.

Hsu had the audience laughing with her sharp and witty answers to questions. When asked how much rice she ate every day, she replied, “I don’t eat rice, I have no teeth and therefore, I cannot chew”.

To another question on whether she had ever fallen sick, she quipped, “The sick demons forgot to visit me.”

Hsu also imparted words of wisdom to the audience by telling them that when somebody says anything unpleasant, just don’t listen.

“If someone also says they are not happy, go all out to make them happy because if you love everybody with all the love in your heart, then you’ll be happy, ha, ha, ha,” she laughed.

On death, Hsu said she normally does not console the relatives of the deceased but instead makes them laugh.

She told the audience how she got a lady whose uncle had died to laugh and sing along to a Cantonese kindergarten song.

Tickled pink: The audience enjoying the question and answer session.

Hsu also said whenever she was faced with a problem, she would try to solve it but if she could not, then she just accepted it.

To another question, she said she wasn’t born naturally caring but shared an incident that deeply affected and changed her. Her late mother once dug up potatoes to feed the family but gave away the entire pot to a starving beggar who arrived at their doorstep with a child.

“That was the day I learnt that to give what you have in your hand to others is a great blessing,” she said.

When asked how important religion was to her, Hsu said, “Nobody ever told me what a religion was”.

She cited an incident when a Buddhist man and a Christian lady were arguing and singing praises about their respective religions.

She told them, “Brother and sister, there’s just one door”.

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© 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Below are some of the cards and letters from my students and friends I would like to share with everyone.

Very cute and thoughtful card from Wai Yi

Shin and Jean Ai think I am the world's greatest animal lover. He He.

 

 Tibetan New Year (Losar) greetings from Zong Ladrang, the household of my root guru, HH Kyabje Zong Rinpoche

  

Alice Wee is an old friend of mine

I sent Betsy Ciaputra of Jakarta some Dharma gifts 

 

JJ is part of the household team of Tsem Ladrang

Offering of blood donation from Seow We Chard.  Very Sincere.

  

Adeline Tan Kwee Ha will be the 2nd nun of Kechara House

Over the years, I have received many cards and letters from my students and friends thanking me and wishing me well.  I thank all of them very much.

Much prayers,

Tsem Tulku

  

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Recognising KSK’s contributions to society, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) is raising funds to help Kechara Soup Kitchen accomplish its objectives and aspirations during a charity dinner to be held on July 15.

Themed “Timber Industry With A Heart”, the dinner also intends to raise funds for Childline Malaysia, a national public safety project that aims to protect and safeguard children’s interests.

Last night, I received mms updates from Liaison Sharon Saw during the dinner.

Dear Rinpoche,

I'm at the Malaysian Timber Council annual dinner which is contributing to KSK tonight.

This is the KSK stand at Mandarin Oriental. Justin, Khor and Joyce Leong are manning the stand.

Joyce has been volunteering for KSK since March. She is a new member of KH, she joined 2 weeks ago. She reads Rinpoche's blog everyday. She says it's fantastic!

Ruby has just received a cheque of RM75k from Malaysian Timber Council.
The cheque was presented by The Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Dato' Hamzah Zainudin, who is the guest of honour,
and MTC CEO Mr Cheah Kam Huan.



There are 51 tables of timber industry and finance people here.


Ruby is now giving a speech, explaining how KSK is inspired by Rinpoche.



Have a look at the creative display panels below that will be used to promote Kechara.

They will make their debut at the venue of Dinner & Auction in aid of Kechara House and Kechara Soup Kitchen this Sunday, 18 July 2010 at Sunway Resort Hotel.

1) The Kechara panel – mumu is a star too (top left)


 

2) Dear Rinpoche,
The display panels promoting Rinpoche's blog & Kechara are ready.
Here's one display with Rinpoche's face shown prominently.

Tq
BK

 

3) Dear Rinpoche,
This panel shows the many faces of Rinpoche. There is also a Chinese one with different pics of Rinpoche.

Tq
BK

 

Published: Saturday July 17, 2010 MYT 5:44:00 PM

The Dalai Lama just loves watches

DHARAMSALA: The Dalai Lama's commitment to the Tibetan cause can only be described as timeless. So, is the 75-year-old spiritual leader's penchant for watches.

When he was seven, the Dalai Lama received his first watch a gold Rolex – from none other than former United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt sent the gift to the Dalai Lama in 1942, as a symbol of gesture to secure relations with Tibet.

"I just like watches. I have 15 watches now, they are mostly gifts. My first watch was given to me by President (Franklin) Roosevelt.

"I like watches, I don't know why. Maybe, because I am a reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.

"I was told (that) he was fond of pocket-watches, rosaries and horses, but I am afraid of horses," he burst out laughing, in his regular banter during an interview at his headquarters in Dharamsala, the power-base of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

Perhaps, the most interviewed and photographed monk, often draped in his usual maroon and orange robes, he leads a monastic life with his staunch followers in the main temple of McLeod Ganj in Dharamsala.

He considers himself a Marxist.

The Dalai Lama was born Tenzin Gyatso in northeast of Tibet to a peasant family and is believed to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.

He fled to India in 1959, when Chinese troops entered Tibet's capital, Lhasa, to quell a national uprising, and he ended up in Dharamsala, northern state of Himachal Pradesh.

Eventually, Dharamsala became home for the exiled spiritual leader and thousands of escaping Tibetans over the past 50 years from where he champions the Tibetan cause. Bernama

from: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/17/nation/20100717175043&sec=nation