By Tenzin Menkyi
DHARAMSHALA, July 13: His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived Sunday on a three-day visit in German town of Wiesbaden, in the state of Hessen. The Tibetan leader who celebrated his 80th birthday in Los Angeles and accepted a long-life prayer offering from the North American Tibetan Association in New York was received at the Frankfurt Airport by the representatives of the Indian Consulate and members of the Tibetan community in Germany.
Prior to his public address at Wiesbaden Kurpart yesterday, His Holiness met with his friends, including former Prime Minister Roland Koch and his wife for lunch today. A Press meet followed his brief meeting with the sponsors of the afternoon public talk, during which he paid tribute to his longstanding friendship with Germans, dating back to 1973, the year he made his first Europe trip and the people of Hessen in particular.
The Tibetan leader said that the real source of happiness is cultivating inner human values and declared his commitment of sharing the same belief. He also outlined his commitments of promoting inter-religious harmony, and preserving Tibet’s culture, language and its fragile eco-system.
Responding to a question about the protests by Shugden followers, the Tibetan leader said that he was happy to see the protesters enjoying their freedom of expression. He added that the spirit and its practice have been controversial for nearly 400 years, and that it has been a source of divisive sectarianism in Tibetan Buddhism over that last 80 years. He said that this issue calls for a careful investigation.
Around 12000 people listened to the public talk by the Tibetan leader at Wiesbaden Kupark. Also present were Mayor of Wiesbaden, former PM Roland Koch, Green Party MP Claudia Roth, who was the Chief Guest at this year’s official commemoration of the Tibetan National Uprising day here, among others.
His Holiness stated that the city of Wiesbaden and the state of Hessen were close to his heart because of the generosity, and the warm feeling they had shown him consistently. “I’ve known Claudia Roth and Roland Koch a long time. We have a steady friendship that will last as long as I live. I don’t know which of us will go first, but I think this is the kind of friendship that will continue into our future lives as well.”
Expressing his appreciation for the European Union, the Tibetan leader called it a very good system where common good of all is put ahead of individual interests. “Whenever I meet people, I always think that we are first of all human beings and that all of us are mentally, physically and emotionally the same. We all want to live a happy life, and we all have a right to do so. I believe that to live a happy life we depend on the rest of the community. This is one of the reasons I admire the European Union because it is based on putting the common interest ahead of narrow national interests. I look forward to when we might have a similar African Union, an Arab Union and even an Asian Union,” said His Holiness.
Tibetan leader also spoke on the significance of practicing compassion, common individual responsibility of unity and his regrets on the prevailing education system which he said was focused more on material development rather than inner values.
Claudia Roth, who serves as one of the vice presidents of the German parliament Bundestag, welcomed the Tibetan leader and expressed gratitude to His Holiness for championing world peace. “Thank you for all the work you’ve done for freedom in the face of difficulty. We thank you too for your efforts to achieve a world without war. You bring a light to our hearts; we support you and hope you live long and in good health.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama attended his 80th Birthday celebrations organized by the Tibetan Community in Germany in the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt today. Artistes from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Mongolian and Chinese community and Senegal performed in front of His Holiness and other guests including dignitaries from German government.
