What makes a great a spiritual leader? Is it nature or nurture or something else?

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The Buddha's world-view was greatly influenced by Hinduism, the dominant world view in his region during his lifetime. The original Buddhist concepts of karma and rebirth are basically a facsimile of these concepts in Hinduism and were taken quite literally during and after the Buddha's lifetime.

The Mahayana view on rebirth is not necessarily taken so literally. In several Mahayana schools, it is suggested that humans go through incarnations in these realms of hell every waking day when feeling angry, hungry, etc. In Nichiren, this is called "Three thousand realms in a single moment of life".

Also, in Mahayana Buddhism, "death" does not necessarily refer to physical death. Reaching even a single moment of enlightenment is referred to as "the Great Death".

The Tibetan schools of Buddhism - though mostly Mahayana - are, due to their geographic location, more influenced by the originally Hinduist cosmology than other schools of Buddhism, as well as remnants of the local Animism cults (that's why Tibetan Buddhism is the only one to have oracles supposedly channeling the spirit world).

In private conversations with Tibetan monks I've noticed on several occasions that the public-held belief of reincarnation doesn't necessarily translate to personal view. An important factor on why it's maintained so adamantly in (public/popular) Tibetan Buddhism is no doubt the question of succession of the Dalai Lama by a Chinese puppet-lama.

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Notwithstanding your (questionable) second premise ... :)

I'll say that not all Tibetans are such sweet souls and you'd be hard pressed to find many that are anywhere near as incomparable as HHDL... but the answer is simple: practice of the Dharma.

His Holiness is a Bodhisattva who has been wholeheartedly practicing according to the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra for many, many, many years if not many, many, many lifetimes. What you are seeing is the result of such continued and amazing practice. Consider his Holiness's favorite quote which he repeats constantly during his teachings:

With a wish to free all beings I shall always go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I reach full enlightenment.

Enthused by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha’s presence I generate the Mind for Full Awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings.

As long as space endures, as long as sentient being remain, until then, may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world.

If one faithfully practices and generates this Mind of Enlightenment the results will follow. You are just observing the results.

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