During the 68th Annual Grammy Awards 2026, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, received his first Grammy. Unlike traditional music awards, the award was given not for a song or album, but for the audiobook Meditations: the reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lamaavailable on the main music platforms. The award saw the Tibetan prevail over candidates such as US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and comedian Trevor Noah.
A message of peace and universal responsibility
In a message written from his monastery in McLeod Ganj, India, the spiritual leader underlined the collective value of the award:
I welcome this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility.
The Dalai Lama then explained the importance of spreading values such as peace, compassion, environmental protection and unity of humanity, highlighting how the award can contribute to making these principles more widely known.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Receives Grammy Recognition Highlighting Universal Responsibility and Compassion
Grammy Award Best Audiobook Narration – Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see… pic.twitter.com/YhK5zlyhem
— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) February 2, 2026
Tenzin Gyatso has lived in exile in India since 1959, after the repression of the Tibetan uprising against Mao Zedong’s regime by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Tibetan spiritual leader is considered not only a religious leader, but also a central figure in the fight for Tibet’s autonomy, with a global following of believers and human rights supporters.
The Grammy award comes in a context in which his figure continues to symbolically represent Tibetan cultural resistance.
Criticism from China
The decision to reward the Dalai Lama did not go unnoticed in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian described the Grammy award as an instrument of “anti-Chinese political manipulation.” According to Beijing, the Dalai Lama is not only a religious leader, but also a political exile engaged in separatist activities. Tension also concerns the question of the reincarnation of the future Dalai Lama, with China supporting a successor recognized by the Communist Party, while the Dalai Lama hopes that he will be born in a free country without political interference.
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