Dharamsala, September 23 – The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has said that Buddhism could influence the legal system and that compassion was essential to bring about social change.
He was addressing a conference on ‘Law, Buddhism and Social Change’ at the University of Buffalo (UB) in New York late Friday.
“The Tibetan spiritual leader concluded his three-day stay at the UB with a more personal exchange – contemplating ethics and compassion with lawyers at the department of law,” a spokesperson of the Tibetan government in exile said in this Himachal Pradesh hill town Saturday.
The conference was organised by Rebecca French who wrote “The Golden Yoke”, a book on the Tibetan legal system. She is currently a teacher at UB.
“It was perhaps the first time the Dalai Lama has taken questions on legal subject matters,” said French.
The Dalai Lama is scheduled to deliver lectures on Buddhism organised by the Tibet House in New York, the spokesperson said.
Earlier this month, the US Congress voted to award the Noble laureate with the US Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour in the US. This move reportedly miffed the Chinese government.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against the Chinese communist regime. Since then he is based in Dharamsala.
