His Holiness the Dalai Lama has won the 2012 Templeton Prize. The announcement made on www.templetonprize.org said, “The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader whose long-standing engagement with multiple dimensions of science and with people far beyond his own religious traditions has made him an incomparable global voice for universal ethics, nonviolence and harmony among world religions.” The Prize will be presented to the Dalai Lama at a ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on the afternoon of Monday, May 14.
The Templeton Prize each year honors a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. Established in 1972 by the late global investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, it is also the world’s largest annual monetary award, valued at about $1.7 million. Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr, president and son of the late Prize founder said, “The Dalai Lama offers a universal voice of compassion underpinned by a love and respect for spiritually relevant scientific research that centers on every human being.”
The Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace for his advocacy of nonviolence as the path to liberation for Tibet, becomes the second Nobel Laureate to receive the Templeton Prize. Mother Teresa received the first Templeton Prize in 1973, six years before her Nobel.
The Dalai Lama’s acceptance video and other statements can be viewed here.