His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Dharamshala, India on April 23, 2015. Photo: TPI

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Dharamshala, India — ‘On this special day, I offer my special prayers and greetings, my elder spiritual brother, please live long, we need you to set a good example for the world,’ His Holiness the Dalai Lama said in greeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu on his 90th birthday.

In a video message to Archbishop Desmond Tutu released by the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (OHHDL) on October 7, 2021, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said: “My dear respected elder brother in the spiritual field, I have deep admiration and respect for you, Bishop Tutu. I want to express my greetings to you on your 90th birthday, so on this special day, your 90th birthday, I will offer special prayers and greetings. My elder spiritual brother, please live long, we need you to set a good example for the world.”

“We religious people should follow people like Bishop Tutu who lives in complete peace. We joke with each other about what we believe. I believe in life after life but not in a creator. Bishop Tutu believes in a creator. So sometimes he teases me that he is ready to go to heaven, but I may go to a different place. Anyway, you see, we are both totally dedicated to finding peace of mind, and through peace of mind, we try our best to bring about peace in the world,” he added.

“As far as compassion is concerned, while we are in our mother’s womb and after birth, her warm-heartedness, her compassion, her loving kindness are the key factors in our survival. Our life starts that way. Keeping alive our experience of our mother’s loving kindness when we are young is one of the key factors for our survival and our being able to live a happy life. Our life begins that way and for the rest of our life, we should keep a more compassionate mind with loving-kindness,” the Tibetan spiritual leader stated.

“These days some scientists also say that the more peaceful our mind is, the more compassionate our mind is, and the physically healthier we will be. If we simply have loving-kindness here in our hearts, automatically our face will smile more. If we have suspicion and hatred in our hearts, even when someone smiles at us, we’ll only be able to show an artificial smile in return. As far as compassion’s benefits are concerned, we are not talking about the next life or going to heaven but in our day to day lives, we really need a more compassionate mind,” His Holiness concluded.