At 90, the Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, has won his first Grammy, a global award for his spoken-word album, Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’.
The album won in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, US, on February 1, 2026.
In the category, other nominations included Kathy Garver (Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story), Trevor Noah (Into The Uncut Grass), Ketanji Brown Jackson (Lovely One: A Memoir) and Fab Morvan (You Know It’s True: The Real 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, blending spoken word and music to celebrate universal values of peace, compassion, kindness and hope.
The Dalai Lama — a title held by Tenzin Gyatso as 14th in the spiritual line of succession — joined other first-time winners at the 68th Grammys, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
Reacting to the award, the Dalai Lama said, “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. I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I’m grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely.”
Musician Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on the Dalai Lama’s behalf during the ceremony.
About the album, an official from the Dalai Lama’s office told HT: “They have used His Holiness Dalai Lama’s key messages taken from various talks given by him on compassion, peace, sense of oneness of humanity, and environment.”
Amjad Ali Khan had posted on social media at the time of nomination announcement, “Our album, Meditation: Reflection of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is a project close to our hearts. It brings together the spoken wisdom of His Holiness with original music that invites reflection, stillness and compassion. Throughout our lives we have been inspired by his teachings and this collaboration allowed us to create something that carries his message of peace and hope in a new way.”
“Working with His Holiness was a profound privilege. We are grateful to every artist who contributed their voice, creativity, and spirit to this vision,” he added.
The album, produced with the involvement of Glassnote Records, features the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s meditative reflections interwoven with Indian classical music and contributions from global artists across diverse traditions.
