A quick note to explain one reason why I am writing so much about the Dalai Lama these days. As we have seen, the Dalai Lama becomes the political as well as the spiritual leader of his people through a very (to western eyes) bizarre, and decidedly “undemocratic” [1] process. He is declared to be the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama through some dodgy evidence, isolated and rigorously trained, and appointed the leader of the Tibetan people at 15 (!). Before I continue with his story and tell you how that turned out [2], I want to pause and talk about why this is significant for me.