FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Dalai Lama (UK: /ˈdælaɪ ˈlɑːmə/, US: /ˈdɑːlaɪ ˈlɑːmə/; Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་, Wylie: Tā la’i bla ma [táːlɛː láma]) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed^[2] to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century, his personage has always been a symbol of unification of the state of Tibet, where he has represented Buddhist values and traditions. The Dalai Lama was an important figure of the Geluk tradition, which was politically and numerically dominant in Central Tibet, but his religious authority went beyond sectarian boundaries. While he had no formal or institutional role in any of the religious traditions, which were headed by their own high lamas, he was a unifying symbol of the Tibetan state, representing Buddhist values and traditions above any specific school. The traditional function of the Dalai Lama as an ecumenical figure, holding together disparate religious and regional groups, has been taken up by the fourteenth Dalai Lama. He has worked to overcome sectarian and other divisions in the exiled community and has become a symbol of Tibetan nationhood for Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile.

From 1642 until 1705 and from 1750 to the 1950s, the Dalai Lamas or their regents headed the Tibetan government (or Ganden Phodrang) in Lhasa which governed all or most of the Tibetan Plateau with varying degrees of autonomy. This Tibetan government enjoyed the patronage and protection of firstly Mongol kings of the Khoshut and Dzungar Khanates (1642–1720) and then of the emperors of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1720–1912). In 1913, several Tibetan representatives including Agvan Dorzhiev signed a treaty between Tibet and Mongolia, proclaiming mutual recognition and their independence from China, however the legitimacy of the treaty and declared independence of Tibet was rejected by both the Republic of China and the current People’s Republic of China. The Dalai Lamas headed the Tibetan government afterwards despite that, until 1951.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

No mother-in-law ever remembers that she was once a daughter-in-law.

Home Hint of the Day

Bluestone makes a good top layer for a gravel driveway. Bluestone is gravel that has been run through a rock crusher. Consisting of particles ranging from acorn size to rock dust, it compacts into a tough, durable surface.

Word of the Day

Julian periodA period of 7,980 years beginning January 1, 4713 b.c. Devised in 1583 by Joseph Scaliger, it provides a chronological basis for the study of ancient history. To find the Julian year, add 4,713 to any year.

Puzzle of the Day

Find a word of six letters, something many people laugh at; subtract one letter and leave what many worship.Monkey – money

Born

• Rene Descartes (philosopher) – 1596
• Andrew Marvell (poet) – 1621
• Franz Joseph Haydn (composer) – 1732
• Robert Bunsen (chemist) – 1811
• John La Farge (painter) – 1835
• Jack Johnson (boxer) – 1878
• Kenneth Red” Norvo” (musician) – 1908
• Octavio Paz (poet) – 1914
• William Daniels (actor) – 1927
• Cesar Chavez (founder of United Farm Workers) – 1927
• Liz Claiborne (fashion designer) – 1929
• Shirley Jones (actress) – 1934
• Richard Chamberlain (actor) – 1934
• Christopher Walken (actor) – 1943
• Rhea Perlman (actress) – 1948
• Al Gore (45th U.S. vice president) – 1948
• Pavel Bure (hockey player) – 1971
• Ewan McGregor (actor) – 1971
• Josh Saviano (actor) – 1976

Died

• Knute Rockne (football coach) – 1931
• Brandon Lee (actor) – 1993
• Frank Perdue (transformed a backyard egg business into one of the nation’s largest poultry processors, Perdue Farms) – 2005
• Terri Schiavo (died after a national controversy about the legality of terminating her medical life-support system) – 2005
• Bob Clarke (illustrator) – 2013

Events

• Abigail Adams wrote her husband, John, at the second Continental Congress about the proposed Declaration of Independence, Remember the ladies and be more favorable and generous to them than your ancestors.– 1776
• President Van Buren issued executive order establishing 10-hour workday for federal employees– 1840
• Commodore Matthew C. Perry signed Treaty of Kanagawa of friendship and trade with Japan– 1854
• Wabash, Indiana, became first incorporated community to be completely illuminated by electricity– 1880
• The Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris, France– 1889
• United States took formal possession of Virgin Islands from Denmark– 1917
• Daylight Saving Time, greeted by opposition from farmers, went into effect for first time– 1918
• First dance marathon held in U.S.– 1923
• Longview Bridge (Lewis and Clark Bridge) opened in Washington/Oregon– 1930
• Act creating Civilian Conservation Corps for unemployed young men signed by President FDR– 1933
• Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma opened on Broadway– 1943
• Newfoundland joined Canadian Federation as the tenth province– 1949
• The Dalai Lama fleeing Chinese occupation of Tibet, was given political asylum by India– 1959
• NATO Supreme Military Headquarters formally opened in Casteau, Belgium– 1967
• In a television speech, President Lyndon Johnson announced he would neither seek nor accept nomination for another term– 1968
• Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse Five, published– 1969
• The first U.S. satellite, Explorer I, returned to the earth’s atmosphere more than 12 years after its launch– 1970
• U.S. Army jury sentenced Lt. William Calley to life imprisonment for murder of S. Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in 1968– 1971
• The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the mechanical life sustaining system could be removed from Karen Ann Quinlan– 1976
• Team owners and the National Basketball Players Association agreed on a four-year labor contract which introduced revenue sharing for players for the first time in professional sports– 1982
• New Jersey judge Harvey R. Sorkow awarded custody of Baby M” to William and Elizabeth Stern and ruled that the surrogate parents’ contracts were constitutionally protected”– 1987
• Crayola announced that the color dandelion would be retired from its 24-crayon pack to be replaced by a color in the blue family– 2017

Weather

• March 30-31: St. Louis, Missouri, got 20.4 inches of snow in 24 hours– 1890
• The temperature reached 108 degrees F, Rio Grande City, Texas– 1954

COURTESY www.almanac.com