(TibetanReview.net, Nov06’25) – A special event to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s contributions to humanity was held on Nov 3 in a committee room of the House of Commons in UK’s parliament as a part of a year-long global commemoration of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s 90th birthday.
The packed committee room celebrated His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s nine decades of extraordinary service to humanity, his teachings on compassion, interfaith harmony, and nonviolence — values that continue to shape global conversations on peace, ethics, and human rights – said the Office of Tibet, London, in a Tibet.net report Nov 5.
The event featured Professor Emeritus Robert AF Thurman, President of Tibet House US, who delivered an inspiring talk on “His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama at 90: Ocean of Wisdom and Compassion”.
Professor Thurman engaged in a conversation with Lady Mohini Kent Noon, Global Envoy in the UK of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) and Founder-Chairperson of Lily Against Human Trafficking. The latter invited Professor Thurman to share his reflections on his first encounter with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the early 1960s and his journey toward becoming a Tibetan Buddhist monk.
Thurman was ordained by the Dalai Lama in 1965, becoming reportedly the first American Buddhist monk of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Thurman (born 1941) is an author and academic. He has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in Jun 2019. He was the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West and is the co-founder and president of the Tibet House US, New York.
The London event was jointly organised by the Office of Tibet, London, and Enacting Peace, an organisation promoting global peace and dialogue. Hon. Chris Law, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Tibet, hosted the event. It was part of the ongoing Ghoton – Year of Compassion initiatives being held across the UK – under the overall leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamshala, India.
The event saw the committee room filled to capacity, with over 85 guests that included parliamentarians Lord Andrew Stone of Blackheath; Hon. Seamus Logan, member of the House of Commons and of APPG for Tibet; and Hon. Kevin Vuong, Member of Parliament from Canada and member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), the report said.