Sao Paulo, April 30 – The Dalai Lama continued his visit to Brazil on Saturday (April 29), leading a ceremony to inaugurate a monument in honour of Mahatma Gandhi in the country’s financial city, Sao Paulo.
“Today’s world really needs Mahtma Gandhi’s philosophy, Mahtma Gandhi’s principle,” the Dalai Lama said during the ceremony.
Sao Paulo is the first leg of His Holiness five countries tour of South America. The Dalai, scheduled to give a series of teachings and speeches, is also expected in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia.
With a population of 18 million, Sao Paulo is the third largest city in the world and shelters the biggest temple of Chinese Mahayana tradition in Latin America, known as the Zu Lai Temple.
Brazil also has a large community of Buddhists belonging to the Chinese, Japanese, Zen, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan and Theraveda traditions.
The Dalai Lama previous visits to Brazil included the attendance of a Environment Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and trips to the cities of Brasilia and Curitiva.
Before travelling to Brazil, the Dalai Lama underwent a successful medical checkup in the United States. Argentina is the next stop in His Holiness’s South American tour.
