The book you are holding in your hands was dictated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama shortly after fleeing Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1959. Almost immediately it was translated into dozens of languages, and this humanly simple story of the leader of the oldest world religion and, at the same time, the ruler of the most mysterious country on our planet about his life and the tragic fate of the Tibetan people has already become a classic. The Dalai Lama talks about the relatively happy life of the Tibetans before Chinese invasion, about how and why he was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, about how he grew up and was brought up. Having assumed full spiritual and temporal power at the age of 16, at the beginning of the Chinese aggression, the Dalai Lama tried to save his people from genocide, calling for UN protection and negotiating with Mao Tse-tung. Later, while leading the Tibetan government in exile, His Holiness, despite the terrible massacre that the Chinese committed in Tibet, continued to follow the Buddhist principles of non-violence, and in 1988 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, to this day, despite the compromise step of the Dalai Lamas - agreement not to demand the restoration of full independence of Tibet - China refuses negotiations and continues the policy of cultural genocide in Tibet.