News Analysis India

Tag: Dalai Lama

  • PM Narendra Modi greets Dalai Lama on his 86th birthday

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to the Dalai Lama to convey greetings to the Tibetan spiritual leader on his 86th birthday.

    Spoke on phone to His Holiness the @DalaiLama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday. We wish him a long and healthy life.
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2021

    The 14th Dalai Lama has made India his home since fleeing China in 1959. “Spoke on phone to His Holiness the @DalaiLama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday. We wish him a long and healthy life,” Modi said.

  • Dalai Lama contributes to PM-CARES Fund to strengthen India’s fight against COVID-19

    By PTI
    DHARAMSHALA: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Tuesday announced to make a contribution to the PM-CARES Fund to strengthen India’s fight against the “alarming COVID-19 surge”.

    “I have been following the continuing challenge that the Covid-19 pandemic has been posing across the world, including in India, with concern,” he said in a statement.

    “At this critical time, during this alarming Covid-19 surge, I have asked the Dalai Lama Trust to make a donation to the PM-CARES Fund as a token of our solidarity with fellow Indian brothers and sisters,” he added.

    “May I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for all the efforts that are being made to tackle this devastating pandemic, especially by those courageously working on the frontline. I pray that the pandemic threat will end soon,” the spiritual leader said.

    With 3,23,144 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 1,76,36,307, while the national recovery rate has further dropped to 82.54 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

    The Centre had set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund in March 2020 with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and provide relief to those affected.

  • Taking care of environment should be part of our daily lives: Dalai Lama

    By PTI
    DHARAMSALA: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on the occasion of Earth Day on Thursday said taking care of the environment should be an essential part of people’s daily lives.

    In a statement, he urged the public to make a positive difference to the environment.

    “I appeal to my brothers and sisters throughout the world to look at both the challenges and the opportunities before us on this one blue planet that we share,” the Nobel Laureate said.

    “I often joke that the moon and stars look beautiful, but if any of us tried to live on them, we would be miserable. This planet of ours is a delightful habitat. Its life is our life, its future our future,” he said.

    The Dalai Lama stressed on the need to work together to find solutions to environmental issues.

    “In the face of such global problems as the effect of global heating and depletion of the ozone layer, individual organizations and single nations are helpless. Unless we all work together, no solution can be found,” the spiritual leader said.

    He raised the concerns of water scarcity and said the welfare of citizens is at extreme risk.

    “Today, more than ever, the welfare of citizens in many parts of the world, especially of mothers and children, is at extreme risk because of the critical lack of adequate water, sanitation and hygienic conditions,” the Dalai Lama said.

    “It is concerning that the absence of these essential health services throughout the world impacts nearly two billion people. And yet it is soluble. I am grateful that Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has issued an urgent global call to action,” he added.

    The spiritual leader noted that interdependence is a fundamental law of nature.

    “Ignorance of interdependence has wounded not just our natural environment, but our human society as well. Therefore, we human beings must develop a greater sense of the oneness of all humanity. Each of us must learn to work not only for his or her self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind,” he said.

    “In this connection, I am glad that (US) President Joe Biden will be hosting a Leaders’ Climate Summit on Earth Day this year, bringing together world leaders to discuss an issue that impacts all of us,” he said.

    He also emphasized the importance of environmental education and personal responsibility to sustain the planet.

  • Dalai Lama sends condolences following Prince Philip’s death

    By PTI
    DHARAMSHALA: The Dalai Lama on Saturday expressed condolences on the passing away of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth.

    The Buddhist spiritual leader has sent letters addressed to both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles after Prince Philip died at 99 in the UK.

    To the Queen, he wrote: “I am sorry to learn the sad news that your husband, H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has passed away. I will pray for him and offer my condolences to Your Royal Highness and your family at this sad time. As we all remember him, we can rejoice that he lived a meaningful life.”

    In his letter to Prince Charles, he stated, “I have written to your mother, Her Majesty the Queen, offering my condolences at this sad time. As someone who counts you as a dear, respected friend, I would also like to offer my condolences to Your Royal Highness and your family.”

    He repeated his appreciation that the Duke lived a full and meaningful life.

  • Dalai Lama get first COVID-19 shot in Dharamshala

    By ANI
    Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 6 (ANI): Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Saturday received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Dharamshala.

    He received the dose at Zonal Hospital here at 7:10 am. He was kept under observation for about half an hour.

    The 86-year-old was undergoing self-quarantine since January last year and he came out of his residence on Saturday after over a year.

    The Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) had requested the state and central government to make arrangements for the spiritual leader’s vaccination nearly two months ago, Palden, the Health Secretary of the CTA told ANI on Wednesday.

    There are currently 589 active COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh, as per the union health ministry. As many as 57,428 recoveries and 997 deaths have been reported in the state so far.

    The second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities against the coronavirus commenced on March 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi got himself vaccinated at the All India Institue of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, on Monday.

    Several prominent political leaders in the country, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, have already taken the first jab of the vaccine against coronavirus. 

  • Rigidity okay with compassionate motive: Dalai Lama to Indian Police

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama on Wednesday said it is okay for police to be rigid on their job as long as the motivation of their action is larger good.

    “Rigidity is simply a method of discipline. Whether it is violent or not entirely depends on the motive. As police, under certain circumstances, you need to use harsh methods, but the larger motivation is protecting people,” he said.

    The Dalai Lama was giving a talk on “Empathy and Compassion in Policing” at the request of the Indian Police Foundation.

    He was addressing the members of the police force virtually from his residence in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

    Emphasising on the need for humans to be compassionate and empathetic, he said such teachings should be part of one’s education.

    “The west…the British introduced modern education, but you should also try to preserve the thousand-year-old traditions of the country, which are ahimsa, compassion, empathy.

    “We should pay more attention to educate students in a secular way. That kind of education will automatically make people more compassionate,” the Dalai Lama said, adding that the Indian police is the “protector of karuna and ahimsa”.

    He said with leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad, who preached non-violence, India could be an example for the rest of the world to learn about the co-existence of people of “different religions, languages, scripts”.

    “India has people of different languages, different scripts, but all happily live together. Today, India should show other countries that people of different languages, customs can live together. India should be an example. Indians should make an effort to promote real harmony between nations.

    “I believe all human beings are the same. Race, language, culture are secondary and more importantly, we all have to live together on this planet. I appreciate the Indian police for protecting the country with this concept and democratic values,” he said.

    The Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, has been living in exile in India ever since he fled during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.

    “All my life I have been with a security person. I have spent nine years with the Chinese police and 60 years with the Indian police, and the Indian police functions with democracy and principle,” he said.

    Asked about the criminal justice system, the Dalai Lama said he was against the death penalty.

    “I am always against death sentence. They (criminals) should be put in prison, but death sentence is not right. Any person can make a mistake, but it is always possible to change through proper education and changing surroundings and atmosphere,” he said.

  • Trump approves Tibet policy, China rejects Dalai Lama’s selection policy

    Strongly opposing the intervention of the Chinese government in the process of choosing the Dalai Lama in Tibet, the US has passed a new law in support of religious freedom. China has rejected this new US law on Tibet. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday, saying that it has strictly rejected the new US law on Tibet. The law was signed by President Donald Trump over the weekend. Chao Lijang, deputy director of the information department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a regular media briefing on Monday refused to accept it, expressing strong displeasure over the new US law on Tibet, and said that issues related to Tibet were China’s domestic affairs.

    US President Donald Trump signed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 and finalized this America’s Tibet related policies. Under this, America’s commitment to support Tibetans in exile and the Tibetan government has been reiterated. By this law, America will prohibit China from choosing its own Dalai Lama. Tibet has thanked the President of America for making this law.

    In February this year, the House of Representatives Tests unanimously passed the bill to strengthen Tibet-related policies. The representatives of the Himalayan Buddhist region have considered it a step towards encouraging and empowering Tibet.

  • Dalai Lama’s Last Surviving Bodyguard Dies In US; Tibet Govt-in-exile Pays Glowing Tribute

    Anen Dawa, the last surviving personal bodyguard of the Dalai Lama, has passed away at the age of 83 in Minnesota, United States, according to the exile Tibetan government’s official website ‘Tibet.net’. He died peacefully with his family by his side on December 27, it added.

    Born in 1939, Anen Dawa was only 15 when he joined the personal army of the Tibetan spiritual leader in Norbulingka. After four years, he was formally inducted in the army and continued to serve as personal guard to the Dalai Lama through his schooling in Sera, Drepung and Gaden monasteries for the next 4 years and particularly, during the Lhasa Monlam ceremony when the Dalai Lama was receiving Geshe Lharampa Degree in February 1959. 

    In the most critical turn of events in March 1959, when the Tibetan uprising was crushed and the threat of Chinese military attacks was ever-growing, on the fateful night of March 17 1959, Dalai Lama accompanied by tens of thousands of Tibetans fled into exile to India.