Dalai says Chinese more concerned about successor than him

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) The Dalai Lama on Friday said
that the issue of his successor was not a "serious question"
for him and that "it is more a concern of the Chinese".
"That is not a serious question for me. It looks like
the Chinese government are seriously looking. I made it very
clear in 1961 that whether the institution of Dalai Lama
should continue or not should be debated," the 76-year-old
Buddhist spiritual head, who described himself as a "son of
India," said.
The Dalai Lama said that in case majority of people
among the Buddhist feel that the institution (of Dalai Lama)
is not relevant, then it will cease.
"It is not much important for Tibetan Buddhist culture
or people. It is quite silly to think that this should
continue. It depends on the circumstances. But as far as
Tibetan struggle is concerned, we have a politically elected
leadership," he said at the HT Leadership Summit in India's
capital New Delhi.
"It (the issue of succession) is more a concern of the
Chinese than me," he said on the issue of succession.
Observing that the 20th century was "the century of
violence", he said, the 21st century should be of dialogue.
"Any conflict cannot be solved by violence. The 20th
century was the century of violence...according to some
historians, over 200 million people were killed. This
immense violence including nuclear weapons failed to bring any
permanent peace to the world, so it was (a) waste."
He said that as far as spirituality is concerned,
various branches of Buddhism have many young leaders who are
inclined and can emerge as good spiritual leaders.
The Tibetan spiritual head said he was an "ancient
messenger of India. Wherever I go, I talk about ahimsa or
non-violence. This is the only country on planet where besides
the home-grown religion, all religions co-exist. Occasionally
there are some problems.
"I am a messenger of ancient India and son of India.
A major portion of my life I have lived in India after
escaping from Tibet. For the last 51 years, this body survived
on Indian dals and rice," he quipped.
Asking Indians to realise their traditional values, he
said, issues like cast and dowry must be addressed very
seriously.
"Political problems like naxalism and Maoist movements
also need to be addressed. There is a lot of suffering in that
area," he said, adding within the country, some traditions
must change as they are outdated.
"There are problems in the country, you need to do
some good work and not just nice words," he said.
"We consider Indians as our guru. Indians are guru and
Tibetans are chela (followers). We are quite reliable chelas
(followers)," he said.

The Dalai Lama said, "Our generation created that
century of bloodshed, so it is now our responsibility to tell
our children that violence cannot solve the problems".
He observed that a busy life and a competitive world
were leading to greater mental stress level.
"In India or any other country, this stress level is
more stronger in big cities like in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata...
whereas in rural areas farmers, there may be physical
difficulties more often but mentally much lesser stress life,"
he said.
"If you develop certain right kind of attitude...
realistic attitude that doesn't matter what kind of
surroundings, but one can keep peace of mind. So peace of mind
is the basis of sound body and healthy mind, the Dalai Lama
said.
"So much anger, so much fear so much attachment so
much emotions...that part will not function smoothly...," he
added. PTI SPC
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