By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 28: The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrapped up his 19 day US tour on June 26 in Indianapolis addressing the US Conference of Mayors on ‘Compassion as a Pillar of World Peace’ organized by the Indiana Buddhist Center in partnership with the Center for Interfaith Cooperation and Compassionate Indy at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The schedule of his final day of the current US trip began with a live face book interview with pop star lady Gaga who posed questions gathered from the social media. The musician said, “The truly fantastic thing about kindness is that it’s free. You can give and give and receive kindness and the well never dries up.”
The Tibetan leader later addressed the 84th Annual Conference of mayors where more than 200 mayors from various American cities had congregated. “It’s a great honour to meet so many Mayors of this great nation. I always think of the United States as leader of the free world. It’s a country known for technological innovation. Your principles are freedom, democracy and liberty, and these qualities are related to warm-heartedness, a respect for others and a concern for others’ well-being. These are not slogans but related to a mental attitude. So I hope and believe that this nation can take the lead in building a more compassionate world,” the Dalai Lama said.
American television personality and news anchor Ann Curry who moderated the event referred to the Tibetan leader as someone who “has thoroughly studied the classic Buddhist texts, but is also curious about modern science” and lauded his religion as the “religion of Kindness”.
The egalitarian Tibetan leader also welcomed the initiatives of Louisville and Anaheim for having adopted the title of ‘City of Compassion’ and ‘City of Kindness’, respectively and regarded the progressive actions as a step towards a ‘brighter future’. “Their efforts give me great courage that efforts are being made to create a brighter future. I don’t expect to see these projects come to maturity, but we need to take practical steps to introduce compassion, not just in theory but in practice. I think you can make a significant contribution to this and many other nations will then follow your example,” the Dalai Lama said.
The 81 year old Tibetan leader who earlier this year underwent treatment will head to Mundgod Tibetan settlement after landing in New Delhi tomorrow.
