By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, February 11: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that the Tibetans will get to return to Tibet and that they should not lose heart. “Things are changing in China. There will be an opportunity for us to return to our homeland. We have all worked hard and that day will dawn. Do not lose heart,” the Tibetan leader, currently in Denmark, told a group of Tibetans living in Copenhagen on Tuesday.
The Tibetan leader also said that the Tibetan resilience is getting even stronger as the Chinese government’s hardline policies get harsher. “We have been in exile for nearly 56 years which in the life of a people is not such a long time, but for one individual may seem long. The spirit of Tibetans in Tibet is still very strong. A Chinese friend reported to me how tough they have become,” said His Holiness. “This is because of the hard-line policies they encounter. It is this narrow-minded hard line that stokes their sense of being separate from the Chinese.”
136 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet since 2009 protesting against China’s occupation of Tibet and its hard-line policies.
His Holiness said that Tibetans should be humble, learned, and keep up their reputation for honesty and kind-heartedness.
His Holiness told the Tibetans not to worry about his health. He said though he is nearing 80 his doctors say he is fit.
On Monday, His Holiness also met with members of the Trondheim Buddhist Association and members of Tibet Support Group in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Tomorrow, His Holiness will give a one-day Buddhist Teaching based on Geshe Langri Thangpa’s Eight Verses of Training the Mind (lojong Tsikgyema) at the Bella Center.
