Tokyo, Japan — Praising United States for its commitment to democratic values, His Holiness the Dalai Lama says he hopes to meet the US President-elect Donald Trump in the future, just as he has met previous Presidents and leaders of the House and Senate in Washington.
During a break from public teachings during his time in Japan on November 11, values, the spiritual leader of Tibet, gave two interviews to Japanese media, first to Ms. Tomoko Nagano, anchor person of Asahi TV's Hodo Station.
First asking why His Holiness visits Japan so frequently, he told her, "Firstly, I've been invited and it would be foolish to refuse an invitation. But more important, I consider myself just one of the seven billion human beings in this world.
"I am convinced we all have a common responsibility to think of the welfare of humanity. So whenever I have the opportunity, I share my views about the oneness of humanity," said the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Regarding the recent election in the United States and President-elect Donald Trump, His Holiness replied, "I consider the US to be the leading nation of the free world, where the values of liberty and democracy are deeply rooted. The result of the recent election reflects the will of the American people."
"I don't think things will be so different, but let's wait and see. Of course I hope I may be able to meet President Trump in the future, just as I have met previous Presidents and leaders of the House and Senate in Washington."
In a second interview, Morita Akira of TBS News asked His Holiness about the large number of Chinese Buddhists who attend his teachings. His Holiness replied, "China is historically a Buddhist country, a place where Buddhism is deeply rooted."
"During the Cultural Revolution systematic attempts were made to destroy religion. But when it was over Buddhism revived and has spread rapidly. Today there are close to 400 million Chinese Buddhists," His Holiness said.
"The communists also tried to destroy Tibetan Buddhism. However, they failed to bring about a more peaceful and compassionate society," he said.
"Today, China is a capitalist country lacking either a proper rule of law or a free press. Corruption is rife, which leads many people to search for some other source of inner values,' .
"In addition, some Chinese have told me that while Chinese Buddhist teachers seem not to have much to say, Tibetan Buddhist teachers seem particularly well-qualified to teach."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in Japan until November 26th as part of a tour of teachings and public events.
Tibet was invaded by Communist China, starting in 1949, Beijing calls a "peaceful liberation". Since that time, over 1.2 million out of 6 Tibetans have been killed, over 6000 monasteries have been destroyed— the acts of murder, rape and arbitrary imprisonment, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment were inflicted on the Tibetans inside Tibet.
In 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama along with thousands of others escaped to India, where he was given political asylum. The spiritual leader has set up a government and rebuilt monasteries where masters pass on their teachings to young monks. Tibetans in exile have succeeded in gradually rebuilding their monasteries, preserving their culture and restructuring their society and keeping it alive, in spite of the extremely difficult circumstances.
For his part, the Tibetan spiritual leader travels around the world spreading a message of Peace and Universal Responsibility. He believes that the common aim of all religions, an aim that everyone must try to find, is to foster tolerance, altruism and love. He retired from politics in 2011. But, as one among six million Tibetans, His Holiness said he will continue to serve the cause of Tibet.
