Violence On The World’s Roof…

In the wake of the recent bloodbath that followed violent protests in Tibet, and the crushing of the rebellion by the Chinese troops, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader in exile in India, the Dalai Lama (a Nobel laureate), is back in the news. A useful Q&A on Dalai Lama and the Tibetan issue appears in The Independent…Click here…

Excerpt: “Why is Dalai Lama so well known? The Dalai Lama is the man who brought Buddhism to Hollywood. Buddhism is the fastest growing Eastern religion in the West. It is fashionable among the secularish chattering classes because it encourages enquiry rather than dogma – offering all the joys of belief without the encumbrance of having to believe anything very much. Buddhist practices such as meditation have been taken up across the whole of the New Age movement. It is the latterday astrology of the Western middle classes.

“Ironically the Dalai Lama is not in search of converts. If people find their own culture’s spiritual traditions, he says, they should look into themselves to find out why. But his charisma and tolerance have made him one of the best-known religious figures alive today.”

Meanwhile the British prime minister Gordon Brown faces a dilemma…to meet Dalai Lama or not when he comes visiting Britian in May. The Chinese, with whom Gordon is trying to build good realtions, are highly sensitive on the Dalai Lama issue. More here…
And here…