“Gratitude and humility”: Dalai Lama reacts to first Grammy win

Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has expressed gratitude and humility after winning his first Grammy Award, securing the honour in the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording category for Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The 90-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who lives in exile in India, was announced as the winner at the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Reacting to the recognition, the Dalai Lama said the award was not a personal achievement but a reminder of shared human responsibility.

“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility,” he said in a post on social media.

The spiritual leader added that peace, compassion, care for the environment, and an understanding of humanity’s interconnectedness are essential for the well-being of the world’s population.

Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama features contributions from artists including Rufus Wainwright, who accepted the award on the Dalai Lama’s behalf, and singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet at the age of 23 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and has lived in exile ever since.

Widely regarded as a global symbol of peace and non-violence, he continues to advocate for greater autonomy for Tibet — a stance rejected by China, which considers him a separatist.

Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is the 14th reincarnation in a spiritual lineage dating back to 1391. While Beijing has said it must approve his eventual successor, the Dalai Lama has repeatedly maintained that the authority to recognise his reincarnation rests solely with his India-based office.