His Holiness the Dalai Lama waves to well-wishers on his arrival in Japan
Photo: Office of Tibet, Japan
His Holiness The Dalai Lama flew to Japan on November 15 for a ten day visit. During his stay, he was able to interact with Japanese people from many walks of life, from both young and older generations. Everywhere he went, he was received with respect and smiling faces.
The Tibetan spiritual leader was invited to speak to the All Party Parliamentary Group where he was met by the chair of the group, Eriko Yamatani, and senior parliamentarian Takeo Hiranuma. During public speech at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Hall he told the 2,500 people who had gathered to see him that “We’re all part of the great human family, if we paid more serious attention to the oneness of humanity, there’d be less room for conflict between us.”
His Holiness with Nobutaka Murao of News Zero
Photo: Jeremy RussellOHHDL
During one of his interviews, Nobutaka Murao of News Zero asked His Holiness his opinion about the new Chinese leaders. His Holiness said that Xi Jinping, the current President, may be more open minded and he seems to be determined to deal with corruption. He also said that harmony is based on trust, and that using force crates fear. Fear and trust cannot go together and to build a communist society we must build trust.
Ms Yoshiko Sakurai, a prominent Japanese news correspondent enquired about the reports that the Spanish National court has ordered the arrest of past Chinese leaders for their actions towards Tibet. His Holiness said it was complicated and said that these leaders grew up under a totalitarian system which leaves little room to exercise personal discretion. They were cut off from the outside world and in most cases cut off from reality. Ms Sakurai expressed her hopes that things will work out for the Tibet and His Holiness responded “The Tibetan spirit is becoming stronger and will long remain so, even though the situation now is so harsh. Meanwhile, China will change. Religion…is related to emotions and human feelings. The Chinese Buddhist population…is now 400 million, with many of them interested in Tibetan Buddhism. I think Buddhism will survive.”
Yoshiko Sakurai interviewing His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Photo: Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL
He spoke to students at Kyoto Seita University on November 23, followed by a question and answer session. On his last day, the Dalai Lama met a group of 300 buddhists from Korea, saying “the principal practices of love, compassion, patience, contentment and self-discipline remain relevant even today in the 21st century.” He then met members of the Tibetan community in Japan, telling them “Today, there are 400 million Buddhists in China, many of them intellectuals who are interested in the Tibetan Buddhism and culture that is our treasure. Some of them come to see me in India, many of them in tears.”
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