Is the Dalai Lama the only spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism?
According to Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism in this world, Buddhist practitioners have the freedom to make up their own minds about what to adopt and what to practice, and which spiritual leader to follow. Buddha Shakyamuni said that no one should believe him just because he said it or because others believed him – they needed to ascertain the truth for themselves. For many Tibetan and Western Buddhists the Dalai Lama is their main spiritual leader, but for many he is not. For 2500 years, Buddhists have been free to choose their own Spiritual Guides. Therefore, those who wish to follow their own Spiritual Guides and Buddhist tradition should be allowed to do so in peace, and without being exiled “materially and spiritually” from the larger Buddhist communities if they make a choice other than the governmentally approved choices. There are many Buddhist traditions throughout the world, including amongst the Tibetans, and the Dalai Lama is not the head of them all. There is n
