Dalai Lama makes first appearance at Buddhist summit since scandal

New Delhi, Apr 21 (EFE).- The Dalai Lama took part Friday in day two of the Global Buddhist Summit, his first public appearance since a scandal sparked by a video in which he asked a child to “suck” his tongue.

Lhamo Dhondup, the birth name of the top Tibetan Buddhist leader, arrived at the event accompanied by several members of his staff who held him as the 87-year-old responded to welcoming greetings from attendees and other leaders.

During his appearance, the Dalai Lama reflected on spirituality and discussed Buddhist responses to the environment, the preservation of the tradition of Nalanda, the legendary Buddhist university, and world peace.

“Let us not naively believe or run after the projection that we are experiencing through our perception,” the Nobel peace laureate told the audience.

Avoiding that “will free us from strong longing and attachment. Craving is removed not simply because you wish it away, but by gaining insight into the nature of reality,” he said.

According to the Dalai Lama’s reflection, “when you are able to eliminate craving, the mind becomes pure and that purity of mind is nirvana, nirvana is a state of mind.”

One of the most popular leaders in the world, he has been under heavy scrutiny since more than a week ago when a video went viral of him kissing a child on the lips and then asking if he could “suck” his tongue during a public event.

The Dalai Lama’s office issued an apology and stated that the Buddhist leader “often teases people he meets in an innocent and naughty way, even in public and in front of cameras”, while leaders of the Tibetan government in exile came to his defense and described the negative reaction as a smear campaign motivated by China.

The 14th Dalai Lama lives in northern India since he fled with thousands of compatriots in early 1959 after China’s crackdown on the failed popular uprising in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. EFE

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