Vancouver — Swathed in vibrant red and yellow robes, Tibet’s exiled leader told reporters Saturday that meeting Paul Martin in a spiritual context is “much better” than meeting the prime minister in a political setting.
The Dalai Lama, 68, had just arrived in Canada for a 19-day visit to Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto that will include a meeting with the prime minister, who has emphasized the visit would not be of a political nature.
Mr. Martin will be the first Canadian prime minister to meet the Dalai Lama, whose visit prompted stern warnings from China about the political fallout of seeing the monk.
“That is much better,” said the spiritual leader in a booming voice when asked about Martin’s preference for a spiritual greeting. “Actually, I consider myself a Buddhist monk rather than politician.”
At a news conference, the Buddhist spiritual leader said, “If [Mr. Martin] asks me about the situation of Tibet, then certainly I will tell him.”
“If he shows interest, then I will ask they help to materialize meaningful dialogue. Otherwise, I have no political agenda.”
A group representing Tibetan Canadians says they have gathered support from more than 150 MPs calling for Canada to take a mediator’s role on negotiations between Tibet and China, which claims the Dalai Lama’s Himalayan homeland as part of its territory.
On Saturday, the Dalai Lama seemed amused by China’s continued insistence that he is a separatist leader, while he insists his government in exile is only seeking greater autonomy.
The Chinese government “still repeats I am splittest,” said His Holiness. “I am not seeking independence.”
In a bemused voice, he said he would like to “invite a Chinese spy” to visit his base in Dharamsala, India, to “look at what we’re doing, what we’re saying.”
The promotion of world peace will factor heavily into the Dalai Lama’s tightly scheduled visit, including a roundtable discussion with fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi in Vancouver.
He acknowledged Saturday the seriousness of the current political climate in the Middle East and recent terrorist attacks, but held to an optimistic outlook.
“Still, I feel overall [the] world is overall becoming better,” he said, referring to the number of people who protested against the war in Iraq.
“This does not mean now today [there is] no conflict,” he conceded.
Asked about his personal security, the beloved monk again took a joking approach.
“I don’t think there is any missile threat,” he said. “If [a] missile comes, these protectors can’t do much,” apparently in reference to security in the downtown hotel where he spoke to the media.
Tibetan organizers in Toronto said the RCMP have assigned the Dalai Lama a Level 4 security, just below what would be accorded to George W. Bush and the Pope.
His Holiness also met privately with Tibetan community members and was expected to visit with interfaith leaders in Vancouver later on Saturday.
He will deliver two spiritual teachings on Sunday to sold-out crowds and attend a luncheon with B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell. On Monday, he’ll attend a musical tribute hosted by movie star Goldie Hawn.
He is scheduled to appear in Ottawa later this week, where he will meet the prime minister, supportive MPs and singer Alanis Morisette will introduce him at a public talk.
Most of the Dalai Lama’s Canadian visit will be spent in Toronto. From April 25 to May 5, he will lead the Kalachakra, one of the most important rituals in the Tibetan Buddhist faith.
Participants will be led in prayers and purification and visualization exercises and witness the creation of a mandala symbol from sand, which believers say represents the palace that Buddha Kalachakra lives in.
At the end of the ritual, the sand creation is destroyed as a symbol of impermanence in the world.
It is the first time the ceremony has been performed in Canada and the Dalai Lama seemed to suggest Saturday it might be the last time in the West for a while.
The Dalai Lama last visited Canada in 1993.
