The Dalai Lama Officially Joins Instagram, Actually Uploads Pretty Regularly

In need of some spiritual inspiration, photography style? Well you’re in luck, because His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama himself has opened an Instagram account and is proving to be a fairly prolific poster.

The news broke earlier today when the Dalai Lama announced it through his official Twitter account, but in reality the Instagram account has been active since the beginning of the month.

In that time, the Dalai Lama has uploaded 16 photos that mostly show him giving speeches or meeting with important political and social figures like President Obama (photo courtesy of Pete Souza) and Larry King.

His Holiness isn’t the first religious figure to join Instagram or have a thriving social media presence, but his is one of the strongest. Having joined Twitter in 2010, he boasts 8.5M followers on that service. And since news broke of his Instagram presence, his following has gone from 5,600 early this morning to over 18,000 as of this writing (and climbing on every refresh).

Oh, and in case you’re wondering what the Dalai Lama thinks of social networks and the potential negative impact, he actually spoke on that subject about a week ago in an interview with TIME magazine. In response to the question “Do Facebook and Twitter hurt or help our happiness?” His Holiness explained:

It depends on how you use them. If the person, himself or herself, has a certain inner strength, a certain confidence, then it is no problem. But if an individual’s mind is weak, then there is more confusion. You can’t blame technology. It depends on the user of the technology.

To follow His Holiness on either Instagram or Twitter, go ahead and click on the corresponding links.

(via The Verge)