His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, is the foremost representative of Tibetan Buddhism and the teachings of the Buddha. His teachings encourage people to cultivate inner peace and empathy, emphasizing that lasting happiness comes from compassion, wisdom, and a disciplined mind rather than external conditions alone. In the 1960s, he met a fellow spiritual leader, the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, whom he later described as one of the three most influential people in his life. The Dalai Lama has authored many books, including The Universe in a Single Atom, which explores the relationship between science and spirituality, and Ethics for the New Millennium, which presents a compassionate vision for living an ethical and meaningful life. To learn more about Buddhism read the Dhammapada.