At 90, the Tibetan religious chief, Dalai Lama, has received his first Grammy, a world award for his spoken-word album, Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’.
The album received within the class of Finest Audio Ebook, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, on the 68th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, US, on February 1, 2026.
Within the class, different nominations included Kathy Garver (Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story), Trevor Noah (Into The Uncut Grass), Ketanji Brown Jackson (Pretty One: A Memoir) and Fab Morvan (You Know It’s True: The Actual Story of Milli Vanilli).
The Dalai Lama had collaborated with sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, on the album, mixing spoken phrase and music to have fun common values of peace, compassion, kindness and hope.
The Dalai Lama — a title held by Tenzin Gyatso as 14th within the religious line of succession — joined different first-time winners on the 68th Grammys, together with filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
Reacting to the award, the Dalai Lama mentioned, “I obtain this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see it as one thing private, however as a recognition of our shared common duty. I really consider that peace, compassion, look after the environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are important for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I’m grateful that this Grammy recognition might help unfold these messages extra extensively.”
Musician Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on the Dalai Lama’s behalf through the ceremony.
In regards to the album, an official from the Dalai Lama’s workplace advised HT: “They’ve used His Holiness Dalai Lama’s key messages taken from varied talks given by him on compassion, peace, sense of oneness of humanity, and surroundings.”
Amjad Ali Khan had posted on social media on the time of nomination announcement, “Our album, Meditation: Reflection of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is a undertaking near our hearts. It brings collectively the spoken knowledge of His Holiness with unique music that invitations reflection, stillness and compassion. All through our lives we now have been impressed by his teachings and this collaboration allowed us to create one thing that carries his message of peace and hope in a brand new manner.”
“Working with His Holiness was a profound privilege. We’re grateful to each artist who contributed their voice, creativity, and spirit to this imaginative and prescient,” he added.
The album, produced with the involvement of Glassnote Data, options the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s meditative reflections interwoven with Indian classical music and contributions from international artists throughout numerous traditions.
