His Holiness Addresses International Conclave on Buddhism and Spiritual Tourism
Dharamsala, 17 February: Invited by India’s Union Tourism Minister, His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivered the keynote address at the first Conclave on Buddhism and Spiritual Tourism in Delhi today. His Holiness stressed that the Buddhist holy places are symbols of peace, compassion and understanding, and that all religions should harness human potential for betterment of humanity and to reduce conflicts. Nations sending representatives included: China, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka.
Dignitaries including the President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, also attended the conclave.
Dr. Kalam, in his inaugural speech, referred to the impact of Buddhism on the world by quoting Chinese philosopher Hu Shih, who said: “India conquered and dominated China culturally for two thousand years without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.”
Buddhism in Tibet suffered from China’s 1949/50 invasion, which led to the destruction of more than six thousand Buddhist temples and deaths of thousands of monks and nuns. Today Tibet continues to suffer under China’s mass tourism policies. Chinese government officials have recently reopened Buddhist shrines closed and looted in the 1950s. Now these holy places are tourist attractions for Chinese tour companies. Local Tibetans benefit nothing from billions of yuan that Beijing and Chinese tour companies make every year
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