He doesn't speak for all Tibetan Buddhists, or indeed for all Gelugpas. No Buddhist does, because Buddha when he died said not to take another leader in his place but instead to rely on the teachings (the dharma, and the vinaya or discipline) and to examine the truth for ourselves. That's one of the special qualities of Buddhism, that there's no great value placed on believing something just for the sake of believing it. Instead we follow the path always with the idea that there is some truth there that we can come to see for ourselves.
So he just speaks for himself. However he is recognized as someone who has studied all the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism thoroughly, and is quite rare in that respect.
Many people I think have the impression that the Dalai Lama's understanding of the Buddhist teachings is just something he was born with, that he didn't need to study but was just like that from birth. That whatever he did, he was bound to grow up as someone with a deep understanding of the Buddhist teachings and sutras.
But no, he was an ordinary child and had to study hard. And astonished everyone with his eruditeness in the exams he passed as a young child.
Dalai Lamas vary greatly in their interests and capabilities.
For instance one of them, the sixth Dalai Lama had little interest in formal Buddhist studies and instead was a poet - apparently to this day the Tibetans love his poems that he wrote. And had quite unorthodox behaviour A sort of Tibetan equivalent of our William Blake perhaps (Blake and his wife were early nudists who would spend their time naked in his garden - as well as writing beautiful poetry he was also quite unorthodox and controversial at his time).
So - Tibetans think of course that there is some special blessing from any Dalai Lama. But this particular Dalai Lama is also greatly respected for his depth of understanding of the Buddhist teachings, in a scholarly sense.
He also has a special interest in Western science, since his youth, and has had many discussions with scientists, such as Carl Sagan etc. over his long lifetime. So, I think he can speak in an interesting way especially about this interplay between Buddhist teachings and science.
As for the different traditions of Buddhism, well there are some core things that all are agreed on pretty much such as the four noble truths and the The Eight-Fold Path
But there are quite a few variations between the traditions. For instance different ideas about what happens between one life and the next. Or about subtle details of what you can say (if anything) about what happens when you become enlightened.
So, that can be a difference between teachers in the various traditions.
In the Mahayana traditions such as Tibetan or Japanese or Chinese Buddhism there is more emphasis on the Six paramitas - Rigpa Wiki and less emphasis on The Eight-Fold Path
If you go to a Tibetan teacher you are likely to hear more talk about developing love and compassion than in other traditions (though it is important to them all). If you become a Tibetan monk or nun, then you would probably not keep to all the what are usually thought of as minor rules so much such as not eating after midday or not handling money than you would as a Therevadhan monk or nun, and your robes are red instead of orange.
In the Zen traditions such as Japanese Buddhism then their nuns and monks take ordination based on the mahayana sutras and the bodhisattva vows, instead of the vinaya so don't take a vow of celibacy and can be married.
And of course Tibetan Buddhism has many elaborate and complex forms of meditation and practices which are thought to be inspiring and useful for some practioners along the path. These are like a kind of medicine - elaborate medicines for people with elaborate problems :). Including also a lot of use of sounds in the form of mantras, and chanting and rituals.
Other traditions of Buddhism take a somewhat simpler approach.
Also, Buddhism is not just an intellectual discipline. It's not enough to understand the teachings intellectually, indeed. Buddha taught a truth that we can actually see, which once seen, dispels ignorance and confusion so that they never arise again. If you think there is some such truth to be understood, it is obviously something more than ordinary intellectual understanding.
We have to engage our whole being, and it's just the way we are, we need to engage the side of ourselves that appreciates poetry, music, art, and so on, otherwise it is like trying to cut off part of yourself and you'll be in continual conflict.
So all branches of Buddhism have things that appeal to that side of us, even Zen Buddhism with its Zen gardens etc. Just that different traditions do it in different ways. These are the things that probably immediately strike you as a Westerner - all the images and the sounds and so on of Tibetan Buddhism. Which are very different from the impressions you'd get if you visited a Zen Buddhist tradition. Or a Therevadhan Buddhist tradition.
So - a lot of variation there. And you can't expect any teacher to speak for all this wide variety of ways that Buddhism is understood and practiced. And these differences are good. It means there are many ways to practice Buddhism suitable for people with different interests and inclinations.
So he just speaks for himself. However he is recognized as someone who has studied all the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism thoroughly, and is quite rare in that respect.
Many people I think have the impression that the Dalai Lama's understanding of the Buddhist teachings is just something he was born with, that he didn't need to study but was just like that from birth. That whatever he did, he was bound to grow up as someone with a deep understanding of the Buddhist teachings and sutras.
But no, he was an ordinary child and had to study hard. And astonished everyone with his eruditeness in the exams he passed as a young child.
Dalai Lamas vary greatly in their interests and capabilities.
For instance one of them, the sixth Dalai Lama had little interest in formal Buddhist studies and instead was a poet - apparently to this day the Tibetans love his poems that he wrote. And had quite unorthodox behaviour A sort of Tibetan equivalent of our William Blake perhaps (Blake and his wife were early nudists who would spend their time naked in his garden - as well as writing beautiful poetry he was also quite unorthodox and controversial at his time).
So - Tibetans think of course that there is some special blessing from any Dalai Lama. But this particular Dalai Lama is also greatly respected for his depth of understanding of the Buddhist teachings, in a scholarly sense.
He also has a special interest in Western science, since his youth, and has had many discussions with scientists, such as Carl Sagan etc. over his long lifetime. So, I think he can speak in an interesting way especially about this interplay between Buddhist teachings and science.
As for the different traditions of Buddhism, well there are some core things that all are agreed on pretty much such as the four noble truths and the The Eight-Fold Path
But there are quite a few variations between the traditions. For instance different ideas about what happens between one life and the next. Or about subtle details of what you can say (if anything) about what happens when you become enlightened.
So, that can be a difference between teachers in the various traditions.
In the Mahayana traditions such as Tibetan or Japanese or Chinese Buddhism there is more emphasis on the Six paramitas - Rigpa Wiki and less emphasis on The Eight-Fold Path
If you go to a Tibetan teacher you are likely to hear more talk about developing love and compassion than in other traditions (though it is important to them all). If you become a Tibetan monk or nun, then you would probably not keep to all the what are usually thought of as minor rules so much such as not eating after midday or not handling money than you would as a Therevadhan monk or nun, and your robes are red instead of orange.
In the Zen traditions such as Japanese Buddhism then their nuns and monks take ordination based on the mahayana sutras and the bodhisattva vows, instead of the vinaya so don't take a vow of celibacy and can be married.
And of course Tibetan Buddhism has many elaborate and complex forms of meditation and practices which are thought to be inspiring and useful for some practioners along the path. These are like a kind of medicine - elaborate medicines for people with elaborate problems :). Including also a lot of use of sounds in the form of mantras, and chanting and rituals.
Other traditions of Buddhism take a somewhat simpler approach.
Also, Buddhism is not just an intellectual discipline. It's not enough to understand the teachings intellectually, indeed. Buddha taught a truth that we can actually see, which once seen, dispels ignorance and confusion so that they never arise again. If you think there is some such truth to be understood, it is obviously something more than ordinary intellectual understanding.
We have to engage our whole being, and it's just the way we are, we need to engage the side of ourselves that appreciates poetry, music, art, and so on, otherwise it is like trying to cut off part of yourself and you'll be in continual conflict.
So all branches of Buddhism have things that appeal to that side of us, even Zen Buddhism with its Zen gardens etc. Just that different traditions do it in different ways. These are the things that probably immediately strike you as a Westerner - all the images and the sounds and so on of Tibetan Buddhism. Which are very different from the impressions you'd get if you visited a Zen Buddhist tradition. Or a Therevadhan Buddhist tradition.
So - a lot of variation there. And you can't expect any teacher to speak for all this wide variety of ways that Buddhism is understood and practiced. And these differences are good. It means there are many ways to practice Buddhism suitable for people with different interests and inclinations.
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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