DHARAMSALA, June 8 — His Holiness the Dalai Lama said today that the current plight of Tibet necessitates him to live long so that he could continue his endeavor for the cause of his people until the issue of Tibet is resolved.
“Your collective prayers for my long life, offered as they are with complete sincerity and faith, will be answered,” he said.
His Holiness made this statement at a special ceremony, organized by the Tibetan exile Administration to offer Long Life Prayers to him.
Leading the prayers were the heads of all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as Tibet’s native Bon religion. They included luminaries like Sakya Trizin, Gaden Tripa, Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, Gyalwa Karmapa Rinpoche, Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche, Taklung Shabdrung Rinpoche, Menri Trizin Rinpoche and Sharpa Choje Rinpoche.
Speaking to the spiritual leaders, His Holiness expressed happiness with what he saw as the golden age of harmony and closeness between Tibet’s different spiritual traditions.
He noted that the closeness and affinity that now exists between the different spiritual traditions and regions of Tibet is unprecedented in the plateau’s history.
“Just as you are offering me long life prayers, I too offer long life prayers to all of you, the heads of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, so that you can work for Tibet’s spiritual and political cause for a long time to come,” His Holiness said.
Referring to the appeal for him to assume the main responsibility in the exile government, His Holiness stressed the need for the elected leadership to exercise power without his shadow, explaining that his commitment to democracy is complete and genuine, and not half-hearted.
He called on the elected leadership to exercise power as if “the Dalai Lama wasn’t around”, adding that this is the only way to the political maturity necessary for progress when “the Dalai Lama is no more”.
In order to pave the way for this, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has decided to minimize his executive role to what he calls “semi retirement”.
To allay the Tibetan people’s concerns over his reduced role, His Holiness said he would continue to work for the cause of Tibet in terms of helping to achieve dialogue with Beijing as well as to mobilize international support.
Earlier, in his address to the Tibetan parliament, His Holiness had said that his primary commitment would be to the humanity as a whole, reasoning that as a member of the human family and as a Buddhist monk, he has a responsibility to promote human values of love and compassion, and to foster inter-religious understanding and harmony at the global level.
In 2001 Tibetans in exile went to the polls and elected Professor Samdhong Rinpoche as the higehst Administrative head.
The election was seen as the culmination of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s initiatives for democratization, begun as soon as he assumed political power in Tibet at the age of 15.
So pleased was His Holiness with this development that he termed it the crowning glory of exile Tibetans’ achievements.
