Dalai Lama awarded the 2012 Templeton Prize
Published in Detodo/La Optimista, Ibiza’s good news only newspaper.
The 14th Dalai Lama has been awarded the 2012 Templeton Prize. According to the award’s website, “The Templeton Prize, established in 1972, honours a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works.” This prize, first awarded to Mother Theresa in 1973, aims to identify “entrepreneurs of the spirit - outstanding individuals who have devoted their talents to expanding our vision of human purpose and ultimate reality.” Men and women of any creed, profession, or national origin are eligible for a Templeton prize nomination.
The 2012 announcement praised the Dalai Lama for his life’s work in “building bridges of trust in accord with the yearnings of countless millions of people around the globe who have been drawn by the charismatic icon’s appeal to compassion and understanding for all.” Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr., president and chairman of the John Templeton Foundation and son of the late prize founder said, “With an increasing reliance on technological advances to solve the world’s problems, humanity also seeks the reassurance that only a spiritual quest can answer. The Dalai Lama offers a universal voice of compassion underpinned by a love and respect for spiritually relevant scientific research that centres on every single human being.”
The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his advocacy of nonviolence as the path to liberation for Tibet. He becomes only the second Templeton Prize Laureate, along with Mother Teresa, to have received both awards. The Dalai Lama responded to this additional accolade with his customary humility: "When I heard today your decision to give me this quite famous award, I really felt this is another sign of recognition about my little service to humanity, mainly nonviolence and unity around different religious traditions."
The Right Reverend Michael Colclough - Canon Pastor at St. Paul's Cathedral, where the awards ceremony was held – shares the same all embracing view, "A non-violent voice of peace and reason in a calamitous world, the Dalai Lama represents core values cherished by many different faiths. The award of the Templeton Prize to the Dalai Lama under the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral will be a reminder that working towards peace and harmony is a practical and spiritual challenge to all faith communities."