By Will Weissert
MEXICO CITY – The Dalai Lama told congregations from dozens of Mexican faiths this week that he doesn’t believe differences between fundamentalist Islam and the religions of the West are the cause of war and modern violence.
More than 1,000 people attended a prayer session for peace at the National Cathedral in the heart of historic downtown Mexico City, featuring the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet and representatives from 11 other major religions.
The 14th Dalai Lama said that “some people were under the impression that there is a clash” between traditions of the East and West but that he didn’t think so. advertisement
He said that “hatred was easily manipulated” and that “some mischievous people manipulate religion.” But he added later that “the whole world, due to communication, population and tourism, is something like one entity, one body.”
The large crowd gave the Dalai Lama an extended standing ovation when he entered the majestic cathedral and another when he finished his address, which took more than 40 minutes and covered topics from the virtues of living a moral life to coping with getting older.
In a shorter and far more focused presentation, Mexico City Roman Catholic Archbishop Norberto Rivera said, “We have gathered here, the different religious denominations . . . to perform a common prayer asking for world peace.”
President Vicente Fox unexpectedly extended a verbal welcome to the Dalai Lama, who arrived for a four-day visit that had been advertised on billboards around the capital.
Fox’s government has said repeatedly that the Dalai Lama is a religious figure in its eyes and not a political one.
During an event in Mexico state, which borders the nation’s capital, the president said the Buddhist leader arrived in Mexico “with a message of unity, a message of peace, a message of spirituality.”
Dalai Lama is a religious title roughly translating into “Ocean of Wisdom” and referring to only part of it, as the president did when he said simply “Dalai,” is unusual.
Fox had no plans to meet with the Dalai Lama.
