Dalai Lama at 80: Here Are Early Pictures of the Tibetan Buddhist Icon

His Holiness as a baby with his mother Dekyi Tsering, father Choekyong Tsering and elder brother Gyalo Thondup taken in Taktser, Amdo Tibet, circa 1935.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness at age 4 posing soon after the search party discovered him in 1939 in Kumbum, Amdo, Tibet.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness at age 5 sitting on the throne during his official enthronement ceremony on Feb. 22, 1940 in Lhasa, Tibet as he was appointed spiritual leadership.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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The Dalai Lama performs his first ever Avalokiteshwara Kalachakra initiation at age 19 in 1954.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness at age 21 being received by the Chogyal of Sikkim, Gangtok, India in 1956

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Dr. V.S. Jha, Vice-Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University confers the an honorary Doctor of Letters on His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special convocation in December 1956 in India.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness at age 23 during his final Geshe Lharampa examinations in Lhasa, Tibet which took place from the summer of 1958 to February 1959.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness at age 23 rides a horse during his escape to India in 1959.

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His Holiness at age 23 during his escape to India in 1959.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness in Lhasa, circa 1956.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness wearing a ceremonial Tibetan chuba.

Courtesy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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