Dalai Lama wins Templeton Prize worth $ 1.7 million

New Delhi: Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama spiritual won the 2012 Templeton Prize on Thursday. For decades, Tenzin Gyatso, 76, the 14th Dalai Lama - a lineage believed by followers to be the reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist leader who epitomized compassion – has vigorously focused on the connections between the investigative traditions of science and Buddhism as a way to better understand and advance what both disciplines might offer the world.

The announcement comes three days after Tibetan exile Janphel Yeshi set himself on fire on Monday in New Delhi to protest China's control of Tibet. China has blamed the Dalai Lama for the incident.

The Prize will be presented to the Dalai Lama at a ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral in London on May 14.

Valued at about $1.7 million, the prize is the world's largest annual monetary award given to an individual and honors a living person who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life's spiritual dimension.

The announcement praised the Dalai Lama for his life's work in building bridges of trust in accord with the yearnings of countless millions of people around the globe who have been drawn by the charismatic icon's appeal to compassion and understanding for all.

The Dalai Lama responded to the prize in the humble style that has become his signature. "When I heard today your decision to give me this quite famous award, I really felt this is another sign of recognition about my little service to humanity, mainly nonviolence and unity around different religious traditions," he said.

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