Envoy Is the Lobbying Force Behind Dalai Lama's Medal

Congressional staff members who focus on foreign affairs, but were not authorized to speak on the record, said Gyari carries a lot of weight.

"If you represent the Dalai Lama, you're not the average lobbyist. He isn't some hired gun," said one, with a laugh.

"He's very humble, quiet, very persistent, but in a way that is never threatening," said another.

Speaking with an Indian lilt, Gyari says he sees himself as a "regular layperson, doing mundane things like running around trying to meet with people."

He and his wife have raised five daughters and a son, all of whom went to McLean High School. The girls all went to George Mason University; all but one has returned to South Asia. His son is studying to be a monk in India.

Because he is believed to be spiritually connected to a deceased senior lama, Gyari gets letters and gifts from people in his home region, in the high plateau area of Eastern Tibet called Kham. When he visits, people come to pay respect to him and ask him to pray for them.

With such an illustrious spiritual heritage, has he given much thought to the passing on of his own consciousness when he dies? Does he think people from Kham will search for signs of his rebirth, as is customary for all high lamas? "From now until I depart, unless I spend some serious time becoming more enlightened . . . I don't know," he chuckled before pausing. "It may depend on the health of Tibetan Buddhism."