The 14th Dalai Lama is one of the most famous personalities of our time. The exiled principal spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, one of the most distinguished scholars of his religion, enjoys global recognition and admiration. No other photographer in the world is as close to His Holiness as Manuel Bauer, whose deep interest in Buddhism and Tibet dates back more than three decades. Since 1990, Bauer has visited and travelled with the Dalai Lama many times and has captured his public appearances and events as well as his private life in thousands of atmospheric photographs.

This book features some 200 of these images, many of which are published here for the first time. They offer unique insights into the Dalai Lama’s travels and public appearances around the world as well as the media hype they cause. They also give an impression of the private side of this truly global public figure, allowing us to share some of the few moments when the Dalai Lama is alone with himself and his thoughts. A special section documents and visually explains a Kalacakra, a fascinating sand mandala ritual that the Dalai Lama held with followers in the Indian Ladakh region in 2014.

The volume is rounded out with essays contributed by Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s longtime interpreter and a renowned Buddhist scholar, and Swiss journalist Christian Schmidt. They broaden our view of Tibetan culture and religious tradition and our understanding of the Dalai Lama’s significance.