By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 31: The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with a group of Vietnamese devotees on Saturday here at his residence in McLeod Ganj. Along with 80 members of the Vietnamese CEO Club, groups of people from (Hanoi, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon and Da Nang) also joined in for the event via video-conferencing.
Addressing the congregation, the Dalai Lama said that issues such as climate change and global warming pose equal threat to all the beings on this earth and that remedial measure should also be devised in unison.
“I always stress that limitless mother sentient beings all want happiness and do not want suffering. While there may be other beings in other parts of the universe, it’s only the beings on this planet with whom we have a direct connection. Today, we are all interdependent. Challenges like climate change and global warming, and the natural disasters such as earthquakes affect us all, so we have to act as one community.
“You Vietnamese have proved yourselves as tough and determined. Now you need to think in terms of the whole world, not just what concerns Vietnam,” the egalitarian leader said while urging the Vietnamese delegation to look beyond domestic boundaries while contributing to humanity.
The Tibetan leader also took questions and reiterated his stand on the need for a change, especially from the youth in transforming the new century in remedying the mishaps brought on by the previous century.
The Buddhist master conducted the initiation of the Medicine Buddha to the gathered devotees and also explained in brief the ‘The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in 25 lines’ or the ‘Heart Sutra’.
The Tibetan leader will preside over a function to launch a book by former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shanta Kumar tomorrow, and a Long life Prayer offering the following day at Tsuglakhang.
