[kilibry]

What makes someone a cult figure is not necessarily of their own doing, or even of their own desire. I have to admit that I have a fondness for His Holiness and hold him up on a pedestal. That's my own attachment and I recognize it. I think he would be the first to tell me that I'm foolish, and perhaps that's the conundrum here.

Honestly, I think anyone who experienced what this young man did in his days when he became the Dalai Lama who can maintain honest compassion for all beings is an example to be followed. As a man, he may be a simple monk, but I don't doubt that he shows his inner Buddha nature better than most. Of course there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of simple buddhist monks that also show this Buddha nature and do so outside of the limelight.

I don't see His Holiness as seeking the limelight, however, as much as I see a simple monk who truly recognizes the responsibilities that had been placed on him. Those responsibilities have led him to a very unorthodox decision of appointing the next Dalai Lama as opposed to having his reincarnation found by those he leaves behind.