Report by Tsering Tashi
(Office of Tibet, London)
HELSINKI, October 1 – The Leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Finland today warmly welcomed and thanked His Holiness the Dalai Lama for taking part in the inter-faith meeting that he had arranged today here at the Palace Hotel conference hall with leaders of the Christian churches, intellectuals and business executives. In his concluding remarks before the end of the meeting, the Metropolita or Archbishop Ambrosius said they would bear in mind the importance that His Holiness gives to warm heart, unbiased compassion and Tibet.
Bishop Eero Huovinen of the Lutherian Church in Helsinki, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Finnish Parliament, Judge Antti Heikinheimo and Kari Raivio, the Chancellor of the University in Helsinki also attended the meeting among others.
The meeting was reported during the primetime 10 pm TV news today. When asked why the Finnish Parliament failed to invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address the parliament, when the European Parliament and other parliaments have done so, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee was shown as saying this time the schedule being difficult in future they could consider inviting His Holiness to address the Finnish Parliament. She also said the Tibetan demand for autonomy in a way is similar to the status of Finland under the erstwhile Soviet Union.
At the meeting when a participant asked a question about Tibet, His Holiness explained that the Tibetan struggle is not merely political, it is the struggle about the preservation of a unique culture and heritage. He said even Tibetans who were Communists had joined the Tibetan struggle for freedom as they were against the Chinese rule. His Holiness said he was seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet to ensure the survival and preservation of Tibetan Buddhism, culture and the fragile environment of Tibet.
His Holiness also told the distinguished gathering, some of whom had attended yesterday his sell-out public talk on A Human Approach to World Peace that all the major religions of the world had the same message of love, compassion and forgiveness. He said to promote interfaith harmony it was helpful if people from different religious background mix with each other. His Holiness also shared his experience of interactions with practitioners from the Christian and Islamic traditions.
The Tibetan Nobel Peace Laureate said that a peaceful society and a peaceful world is in the interest of everyone and therefore we must think about the environment and welfare of humanity as a whole because in this world of growing interdependence, the concept of national boundaries no longer seem to be relevant.
Earlier in the morning His Holiness gave a basic introductory teaching on Buddhism to a largely Finnish audience at the request of the Finnish-Tibetan Cultural Association, which along with the Service Centre for Development Cooperation (KEPA) had also organised His Holiness’ public talk. Prior to the teaching which was also attended by half a dozen Tibetan families living in Finland and some Vietnamese, His Holiness reiterated that it is always better for people to maintain one’s traditional religion as sometimes changing a religion can bring confusion.
The visit of His Holiness and the public talk that he gave yesterday received wide coverage especially in the Finnish TV and newspapers. The reports were accompanied by photos of His Holiness and background information relating to Tibet.
“In general whether the people believed in Buddhism or not they all seem to have a lot of interest to see and hear His Holiness’message which was apparent from the large attendance at the public talk when the main hall was fully packed and the organisers had to arrange two different rooms so that people could see His Holiness on large video screens”, said Mrs. Kesang Y. Takla, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Northern Europe, the Baltic States and Poland.
Mrs. Takla said the public interest in attending His Holiness’ talk and the teaching clearly indicated the success of the fulfillment of His Holiness’ three declared commitments in life, namely promotion of human values, promotion of inter-religious harmony and working for Tibet.
Maatti Ojanpera feels His Holiness’ visit to Finland has been successful in terms of good media coverage and bringing people together.
“This visit of His Holiness is important because now many Tibetan Buddhist groups seem to have the willingness to work together and cooperate in practicing Tibetan Buddhism in this part of the world. His Holiness has also shown how close he is to the common people and has been very effective in conveying his message about warm heart, compassion and the Tibetan cause”, said Mr. Ojanpera whose Finnish translation of His Holiness’ book, The Universe In A Single Atom, can be seen prominently displayed from the window of book stands in Helsinki.
