Dalai Lama: Religion Not Cause of Violence

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Dalai Lama: Religion Not Cause of Violence

 

2 hours, 44 minutes ago World - AP Latin America

 

 

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer

 

MEXICO CITY - The Dalai Lama on Monday told more than 1,000 people

at the National Cathedral he doesn't believe differences between

fundamentalist Islam and the religions of the West are the cause of

war and modern violence.

 

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AP Photo

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The Dalai Lama receive a flower from a fans while leaving the

National Cathedral after saying a prayer for peace in Mexico City,

Mexico Monday Oct. 4, 2004. The Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace

Prize winner arrived in Mexico on Sunday and will offer several

talks among other activities. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

 

 

The 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, joined

representatives from 11 other major religions to lead a prayer

session for peace in the heart of historic downtown Mexico City.

 

 

"Some people were under the impression that there is a clash"

between traditions of the East and West, said the Dalai Lama, adding

that he didn't think so. He said "hatred was easily manipulated" and

that "some mischievous people manipulate religion." But he added

later that "the whole world, due to communication, population and

tourism, is something like one entity, one body."

 

 

The large crowd, made up of congregations from dozens of diverse

Mexican faiths, gave the Dalai Lama an extended standing ovation

when he entered the majestic cathedral and another when he finished

his address, which took more than 40 minutes and covered every topic

from the virtues of living a moral life to coping with getting

older.

 

 

As he was leaving, the Dalai Lama playfully tugged on the long beard

of another religious leader on-stage and pretended to scurry off.

 

 

In a shorter and far more focused presentation, Mexico City Roman

Catholic Archbishop Norberto Rivera said "we have gathered here, the

different religious denominations ... to perform a common prayer

asking for world peace."

 

 

Also on Monday, President Vicente Fox (news - web sites)

unexpectedly extended a verbal welcome to the Dalai Lama, who

arrived Sunday for a four-day visit that has been advertised on

billboards around the capital.

 

 

Fox's government has said repeatedly that the Dalai Lama, is a

religious figure in its eyes and not a political one. Last week, the

Dalai Lama visited Costa Rica, El Salvador (news - web sites) and

Guatemala and met with the presidents of each country, but Fox has

no plans for a face-to-face meeting.

 

 

Still, during an event in Mexico state, which borders the nation's

capital, the president said the Buddhist leader arrived in

Mexico "with a message of unity, a message of peace, a message of

spirituality."

 

 

"To the Dalai we extend a welcome to our country," Fox said, "a

country of values, a country of families, a country working hard to

build a better future."

 

 

Dalai Lama is a religious title roughly translating into "Ocean of

Wisdom" and referring to only part of it, as the president did when

he said simply "Dalai," is unusual.

 

 

First lady Marta Sahagun received a personal audience on Sunday

night with the Dalai Lama who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

 

 

She called the meeting "a conversation that was very cordial, very

nice, where we only talked about things that had to do with his

spirituality, which I admire."

 

 

Mexico is trying to expand economic and social relations with China

and has a fiercely isolationist history that makes it wary of taking

a stand on international questions, such as whether Tibet should

have more autonomy from China.

 

 

The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in Dharamsala, India, since a

failed Tibetan uprising against the Chinese government in 1959. He

now acknowledges that Tibet is part of China, but Beijing still

considers him a revolutionary who works to spread notions about

Tibetan independence.

 

 

Although Fox has no plans to meet with the Dalai Lama, his visit has

nevertheless upset Beijing. On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama is

scheduled to address much of Mexico's Congress as an invited guest,

a visit that prompted China to write a letter of protest in May.

 

 

China's ambassador to Mexico, Ren Jingyu, said last week that Mexico

should not allow the Dalai Lama to spread his revolutionary messages

on its soil.