THE Dalai Lama has responded with “gratitude and humility” after winning a coveted Grammy Award for a recording of spiritual reflections.
“I don’t see this as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility,” the 90-year-old exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader said in a social-media post after Sunday’s ceremony.
“I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I’m grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely.”
The award was received on his behalf by the Canadian-American composer Rufus Wainwright, who was one of several musicians to have provided the soundtrack to the audiobook, “Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama”.
The album, featuring talks and writings on mindfulness and harmony, beat other shortlisted offerings including from a Grammy host, Trevor Noah, and the French rapper and dancer, Fab Morvan, as well as an audiobook recording by the US Supreme Court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of her memoir, Lovely One.
The Dalai Lama’s win was condemned, however, by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, who said that his government was “resolutely opposed” to “relevant parties using art awards as a tool for anti-China political manipulation”.
“It is widely known that the Dalai Lama is not simply a religious leader, but a political exile who, under the guise of religion, engages in anti-China separatist activities,” the spokesman, Lin Jian, told a press conference in Beijing. “Our stance on this has always been consistent and unequivocally clear.”
Recognised as the 14th incarnation of the Dalai Lama as a small child in 1939, the Tibetan leader has lived in exile in India since 1959, after China’s brutal suppression of a pro-independence uprising. He has written more than 50 books and several music recordings.
In 2025, he confirmed plans to seek a reincarnated successor, according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, from the “free world”, fuelling fears that China’s ruling Communist Party could respond by appointing a rival approved by the regime.
Other Grammy winners on Sunday included the singers Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, and Justin Bieber, as well as the American director Stephen Spielberg.
Besides his 2026 Grammy, the Dalai Lama also holds international awards including the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, the 2012 Templeton Prize, the US Congressional Gold Medal.
