The opening ceremony for the Award Gallery in the Dalai Lama Library and Archives was held on Sunday, the 10th of December 2023, on the auspicious occasion of the 34th Anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. After a hearty breakfast, the 150 attendees were seated in the Conference Hall to open the Award Gallery officially.

Mr. Jamphel Lhundup, Director of the Dalai Lama Library and Archives welcomed the guests to the event, in particular His Eminence Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, Former Prime Minister of the Central Tibetan Administration and Shri Sudhir Sharma, member of the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh. Mr. Lhundup then thanked the various respected dignitaries and guests for attending the event.

He went on to introduce the Dalai Lama Library and Archives, explaining that the conception of the building was envisioned in 2015 by the Dalai Lama Trust as a space to house all media materials related to His Holiness the Dalai Lama- teachings, documents, books, awards and other materials, in order to preserve this rich inheritance that His Holiness has graciously shared with us and to safeguard this invaluable and timeless information for generations to come. 

He explained that construction was started in 2017 and after years of meticulous planning and hard work, the building was completed in 2022 with His Holiness officially inaugurating it on July 6th, 2022, on the special occasion of his 87th Birthday. Mr. Lhundup then expanded on the eight sections working to preserve His Holiness’ work in this building – the Teaching compilation and editing section which transcribes His Holiness’ many teachings and then edits them for publication, the Translation Section which works on various levels to translate His Holiness’ words, The Audio-Visual section which primarily documents His Holiness’ activities in video, audio and photographic mediums and also makes the live broadcasts of His Holiness teachings possible.

The Data Entry Section inspect, digitize and organize the documents that are formally transferred from the Office of His Holiness, while the Archive section catalogue and preserve all documents and objects of historical importance in either the Paper Archive or the Digital Archive, protecting these artefacts from the elements and the passage of time. The library houses the collected lifeworks of His Holiness, books and texts regarding His Holiness and his predecessors and various other volumes in several languages for all those interested in learning about or researching His Holiness’ works. Then there is the conference hall where the gathering took place, which serves as a space to hold conferences, seminars and workshops centered around His Holiness’ contributions and vision for creating a kinder and more compassionate world. 

Then Mr. Lhundup introduced the final section of this building – The Award Gallery, which the event was organized around. The Awards Gallery proudly displays the various honorary degrees, citizenships, awards, and other prestigious honours bestowed upon His Holiness. This section acknowledges and celebrates the recognition and appreciation that His Holiness has received throughout his life, reflecting his profound impact on society. It showcases a collection of some of the world’s most prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Templeton Prize, Congressional Gold Medal, and many more. 

Mr. Lhundup then said that he hoped that all the guests would be as moved and awestruck as he was as they visited the award gallery which serves as a great source of inspiration to us all to embody the qualities of love, compassion and kindness that His Holiness espouses. With this, he invited Shri Sudhir Sharma to talk.

Shri Sudhir Sharma, MLA of Himachal Pradesh began by saying that he considered himself fortunate to have met His Holiness and that he was very inspired by the sheer magnitude of honours that His Holiness had received over his lifetime, including some before India’s independence. He went on to note that Dharamshala is now mostly known for being His Holiness’ residence, bringing in many tourists to pay their respects. He explained that he wasn’t sure he would have been able to make it on that day as he hadn’t been feeling very well, but that he was very pleased that he could make it and preside over the opening ceremony. He said “This Award Gallery is a treasure, not only for us, but for the whole world. I am very pleased and humbled to be here.”

Then His Eminence Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche was invited to talk. He spoke in his signature eloquent style in both Tibetan and Hindi, starting by explaining that the Dalai Lama Library and Archives is a space meant for people who are seriously committed and interested in learning about His Holiness. It is not meant to be a tourist attraction to be ticked off of one’s list, it is a place where visitors are encouraged to interact with the central tenets of His Holiness’ teachings and the unparalleled wisdom contained within them. His Eminence explained that the preservation and conservation of His Holiness’ lifeworks are an important job and that therefore those who come to visit the Award Gallery should come with the intention of truly learning about His Holness’ work and not as an idle visit.

The guests were then invited to visit the Award Gallery. The gallery holds two thangkha series, one depicting His Holiness the 14th DalaiC Lama’s life in 15 ornate thangkha paintings and the second is a series of each of the 14 Dalai Lamas’s lives. The Gallery begins with the many honorary doctorate degrees presented to His Holiness from around the world and the honorary citizenships awarded to him. As you make your way into the inner square, you are greeted by a shelf that holds important awards and citations. Around the perimeter of the inner square are all the awards bestowed upon His Holiness and the collection of keys to cities that His Holiness has received. At the centre of the inner square are the most prestigious awards – the Nobel Peace Prize sits proudly at the centre of the stand, while around it are the Geshe Ngagrampa Degree, the Templeton Prize, the US Congressional Gold Medal and the Ramon Magsaysay Prize. It was a truly magical moment to be able to see the Nobel Peace Prize on the 34th Anniversary of His Holiness receiving it. As you exit the inner square, there is a long wall along which all the Tibetan cultural gifts and offerings are displayed, which bring us to the end of the Award Gallery.

While over 1,300 individual awards are housed in the Dalai Lama Library and Archives, only a few hundred are displayed in the gallery. Even though that is only a fraction of the real number of awards, it is a truly humbling experience to walk through the gallery, stopping at each piece to read the description. The sheer magnitude of accomplishments is as inspiring as it is staggering. His Holiness has worked tirelessly for over 6 decades across the globe to bring messages of peace,  compassion and inner transformation. It is heartwarming to see that these messages are so needed and appreciated across so many communities. This gallery is a true testament to His Holiness’ remarkable impact on the world. 
The Dalai Lama Trust is delighted to announce that this event marked the opening of the Award Gallery to the public.

The Award Gallery will be open to the public from Tuesday to Saturday and will remain closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. There are two visitation timings, the morning visitation is from 10 am to 11 am and the afternoon visitation is from 3 pm to 4 pm. A maximum of 50 people will be allowed at one time with a daily limit of 100 people. All visitors must register at the entrance of the Dalai Lama Library and Archives in advance and must produce a valid ID. Mobile phones, cameras and bags are not allowed inside and will be stored at the entrance of the premises. Fresh notices will be issued if and when the timing and limit of visitors change.

We are so pleased that this very special space is now open to the public and look forward to seeing you there. May you be as inspired as we are when you visit, and may this space light a fire within us and guide us to embody the wonderful qualities of kindness, love and compassion that His Holiness embodies and encourages us to cultivate. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at dlla@dalailama.com.