14th Tibetan Religious Conference concludes

DHARAMSALA, 28 Nov: The 14^th Tibetan Religious Conference concluded at the headquarter of the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA) today with the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai in the chair.

Addressing the congregation, the Dalai Lama espoused the need to divide Buddhism into Science, religion and philosophy so that everyone can study it as an academic subject rather than it confining it to just religion.

“As the scientists who are sceptical about accepting the concept of creator god are drawn towards Buddhism as it encourages logic and investigation,  and because the Buddhist concept of non-violence and Karuna are universal, therefore it is only beneficial if we study it as an academic subject,” the Dalai Lama said.

The Dalai Lama thanked all the leaders of the Tibetan Buddhist and Bon traditions for their efforts to practice, study and to preserve Buddhism and urged them for their continued effort.

The Tibetan Nobel Laureate also commended the congregation for their genuine concern discussion on his reincarnation. Much to the joy of everyone gathered in the hall as well as all the Tibetans and his followers across the globe, the octogenarian leader declared that he is physically healthy and mentally happy at the advanced age of 84 and that there is no need to worry. 

Organised under the aegis of department of religion and culture of the CTA, the three-day conference from 27-29 Nov was attended by 117 heads and important figures of major Tibetan Buddhist and Bon traditions from across the world.

H.E the Sakya Trizin Rinpoche delivered the opening remarks of the conference where he likened the Dalai Lama to that of a gem of the world.

He also spoke about the importance of genuine appeal by Tibetans to the Dalai Lam to reincarnate and most importantly to accept the reincarnation regardless of its place of birth and the sects the reincarnation comes from.

The President of the CTA Dr Lobsang Sangay in his remarks at the inaugural ceremony on 27, Nov described the conference as a historical significance as he shot down China’s attempt to meddle in the reincarnation of the 15th Dalai Lama as not just uncustomary but against the norms of international law and religious freedom as well.

He further called for a 100-1000 vision for further sustenance and preservation of the Buddhism and its school of thought, something akin to his administration’s 5-50 vision premised on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s advice to “Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worst” to resolve the Tibetan issue.

The conference unanimously adopted a three-point special resolution on the reincarnation on the first day as follows;

• The Karmic bond between the Dalai Lamas and the Tibetan people have been inseparable and the present status of the Tibetan people being extremely critical, all Tibetans genuinely wish for the continuation of the Institution and Reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in the future. We therefore strongly supplicate to His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama for the same.

• The authority of decision concerning the way and the manner in which the next reincarnation of the XIV Dalai Lama should appear solely rests with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama himself. No government or otherwise will have such authority. If the Government of the People’s Republic of China for political ends chooses a candidate for the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan people will not recognize and respect that candidate.

• Regarding the method of recognizing the future reincarnations of the Dalai Lama, the same unique Tibetan traditional method, which has been continuously used until now, will be followed. This method conforms to be basic philosophy and tents of the Buddhadharma and originated in Tibet over 800 years ago.

The CTA maintained that the conference will focus on enabling extensive participation of the religious heads and other important figures of Tibetan Buddhism in the discussion and decision making on the overarching significance of Tibetan tradition of recognising the reincarnation of scholar-adepts with a particular emphasis on the discovery and recognition of the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.