His Holiness Meets former President George W Bush and gives interview on democracy[Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 9:00 a.m.]

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is greeted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush in Dallas, Texas, on 10 May 2011. Photo/Layne Murdoch

His
Holiness the Dalai Lama began his day on 10 May with a meeting with
former US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Paula Dobriansky.
Therefore, he left for the residence of President George W. Bush and
Mrs. Laura Bush for a meeting with them. His Holiness spent around an
hour with them. President Bush said he was honoured with His Holiness’
coming. Later, speaking at a luncheon where President Bush was there,
His Holiness said he had been waiting to meet President Bush again,
calling him “my dear friend.”His Holiness went from the Bush
residence to the Meadows Museum of Southern Methodist University, the
venue of an interview on democracy conducted by Ambassador Jim
Glassman, who is the Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute.
The interview will be broadcast on PBS (American public television) and
also archived in the Bush Center’s democracy collection.  In the
interview His Holiness dwelt on his overall view of democracy being
universal and explained the historical development of the Tibetan
democratic experience.Thereafter, His Holiness attended a
luncheon hosted by the George W. Bush Center and was greeted at the
door by President Bush. Ambassador Glassman in his welcome remarks
announced that during the meeting with President Bush, His Holiness had
presented a copy of the draft document, having His Holiness’ editorial
correction, which resulted in the Constitution of Future Tibet
promulgated in 1963. He said that this document is the first
contribution to The Freedom Collection at the George W. Bush Institute,
which “presents the personal stories of struggle and achievement told
by the men and women who led freedom movements from the last century
through present day.” Ambassador Glassman added that the document is
being regarded as the founding document of the collection.  The
document is the copy of the Tibetan manuscript, Principles of the
Constitution of Future Tibet, which was the framework for the Draft
Constitution of Future Tibet of 1963. The Bush Center is releasing a
statement on this document and photos on its Facebook page.President
Bush spoke next and recognised some individuals, including former
senator Bill Frist.  He said that he had been looking forward to
today’s meeting with His Holiness saying that during his presidency
there have been extraordinary moments and some of these were his
meetings with His Holiness.  He said, “When you spend time with him,
you realise that there is something unusual about him.” The President
called His Holiness “courageous but humble” and “a delight to be
around.”  “When I think of the Dalai lama, I smile,” he said. He said
that His Holiness was courageous in the defense of liberty and
understands that freedom means peace and he is a man of peace.  Terming
His Holiness’ presence as a “priceless contribution” to the Bush Center
and a “great gesture of friendship,” the President invited him to the
podium.His Holiness began by saying that since their last
meeting during the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in 2007, he had
been looking forward to meeting President Bush, whom he called “my dear
friend.”  Revealing that President Bush had telephoned him soon after
his gall bladder surgery, His Holiness said that he felt greatly
touched by the gesture. His Holiness said that he considered the President’s support as being pro-justice and not pro-Tibet. His
Holiness said that irrespective of the status of people, whenever he
met anyone he viewed that at the fundamental human level. Thus, from
the first meeting with President Bush, His Holiness said that he found
him “a wonderful person, a good person.”Terming President Bush’
laudatory words about him as being “positive exaggeration,” His
Holiness said he was fundamentally just one of the six billion human
beings working to contribute his share for the wellbeing of humanity. 
Emphasising the importance of developing inner peace, His Holiness said
that even President Bush would know from his experience that money and
power alone did not bring about inner peace.  He added that scientists
have also found that a warm-hearted person enjoyed better health. His
Holiness said his approach at promoting these human values is not based
on religious belief but developed out of common sense, common
experience and through scientific evidence. His Holiness said
that at the secondary level, he was a Buddhist and in the course of his
meetings with leaders of the different spiritual faith, he found that
all religions had the potential of bringing inner peace.  Therefore,
there was the need for inter-religious harmony, he said, adding that
whether one liked it or not, realistically we all have to live
together. Talking about Tibet, His Holiness explained that
everyone knows that he had relinquished political responsibility.
However, he said he was a Tibetan. From this perspective he asked the
people to understand the impact of Tibet to the world. He specifically
highlighted the issue of Tibet’s ecology saying that Chinese scientists
have termed the Tibetan plateau as the Third Pole to indicate its
significance, equal to the north and the south poles.  He said many of
the rivers of Asia originate in Tibet and that more than a billion
people depend on the water from these rivers. His Holiness
said caring for Tibetan ecology had nothing to do with politics. He
commended former Chinese president Zhu Rongji for recognising the
importance of Tibetan forests for the environment and limiting
deforestation for national interest. His Holiness, however, said that
dues to corruption, etc., environmental degradation, including
indiscriminate mining continue to be taking place in Tibet.His
Holiness concluded by suggesting that the participants in the luncheon
who may know of ecologists could think of forming teams, in full
co-operation with Chinese government officials, to study the status of
Tibetan environment and to find ways to protect it. His
Holiness then took some questions from the audience in a session that
was moderated by Ambassador Paula Dobriansky.  To a question on whether
the Chinese Communist regime was sustainable and whether there would be
a democratic China, His Holiness said that China would change although
no one knew when it would be. He said the Chinese authorities seem to
be nervous about their position and referred to the report that the
internal security budget of China surpassed that of the external
defense budget.Asked what were his greatest lessons, His
Holiness said that the loss of his country was one; being the longest
guest of the Government of India was another; appreciating the freedom
of speech was another.  His Holiness also said he learnt that tragedy
brings about more inner strength adding that the Tibetan people were
hardened by our tragedy.  His Holiness said that the world was
heading towards a positive direction in response to another question.
He recalled his conversation with the late Queen Mother of England who
had lived for most of the 20th century and who had said that the
humanity was becoming better as during her childhood days the issues of
human rights and right to self-determination were not known.  His
Holiness also referred to increased ecological awareness as well as
interest of scientists in inner values that showed the world was
becoming better.  His Holiness reminded everyone of the impact of
global warming and said some of his people have said that next year
2012 there would be some solar storm.When asked whether he
considered it an auspicious sign to be sharing the same birthday on 6
July with President Bush, His Holiness first joked that the question
should be asked to the President. His Holiness said that some Tibetans
believe that being born on the same day it was in order to work
together. His Holiness said he was born in Asia and President Bush was
born here but he believed that this meant that they had the same
purpose for their lives. He said he was fully committed to democracy
and suggested that President Bush to speak more forcefully for the
promotion of democracy. Referring to the development in North Africa
and the Middle East, His Holiness said he felt that President Bush
could make a contribution on these issues. Following his remarks, His Holiness presented a mounted Tibetan scroll painting of the Buddha for the George W. Bush Center.His
Holiness then departed for Fayetteville in the state of Arkansas for
the next stage of his visit. On arrival officials of the University of
Arkansas received him. His Holiness will have two events at the
University on 11 May.  These will be webcast live on 11 May at 9:30
a.m. and 1:30 p.m  (7 pm and 11 pm in India and 8:30 pm and 12:30 am in
Tibet) will be streamed live at http://dcestream.uark.edu/HHDL.