More than 17,000 people gathered on Thursday i n a New York area sports arena to offer prayers for the long life of the 89-year-old Dalai Lama, who said he expected to live past 100.
"I have done my best to benefit others and the Tibetan people," the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said in his first major public appearance following knee replacement surgery in June.
"Going forward too, I will live for more than 100 years in order to fulfill the wishes of the Tibetan people," he said, reiterating past predictions.
The Dalai Lama also spoke about the need for religious harmony and emphasized the principles of secular ethics — an ethics system that appeals to religious and nonreligious alike and is based on the cultivation of genuine compassion.
"The world has the existence of different religions, which need to have harmony and respect for each other," he told the crowd, which came from 30 U.S. states and Canada.
“In the case of Buddhism, many scientists and atheists today show interest when it comes to Buddhist philosophy and perspectives on the mind and psychology,” he said.
Tenzin Namdol from Boston, one of the attendees at the UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders’ hockey team, said she felt “so blessed” to hear the Dalai Lama.
“He advised us to make an effort to understand the meaning of Buddhism and to make an effort to live according to the teachings,” she said. “His Holiness assured us he would live a long life.”
The Dalai Lama returned to New York on Tuesday after completing over six weeks of physiotherapy in Syracuse, New York, where he was undergoing his recovery and resting after knee replacement surgery on June 28.
He is scheduled to return to Dharamsala, India, on Aug. 28 but will make a brief stop in Zurich, Switzerland, where Tibetans there are scheduled to offer long-life prayers on Aug. 25.
Meeting with US officials
Two U.S. government officials — Uzra Zeya, under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights and special coordinator for Tibetan issues, and Kelly Razzouk, special assistant to the president and national security council senior director for democracy and human rights — met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday.
They conveyed U.S. President Joe Biden’s best wishes for his good health.
They also reaffirmed the U.S’s commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans and supporting efforts to preserve their distinct historical, linguistic, cultural and religious heritage, the State Department said in a statement issued Wednesday.
During his presidential campaign, Biden promised to meet with the Dalai Lama, prompting hope among Tibetans that the meeting would take place during the Tibetan spiritual leader’s two-month-long stay in the U.S. ever since he arrived in New York on June 23.
Beijing, which considers the Dalai Lama a separatist, responded angrily to the meeting with the two U.S. officials, saying it firmly opposed any country that allowed the spiritual leader to visit under any pretext and that it opposed government officials meeting with him.
In an emailed response to Radio Free Asia, the State Department said Zeya discussed Tibetan cultural preservation with the Dalai Lama, along with the ongoing efforts by the U.S. to address human rights abuses inside Tibet. They also discussed support for resuming talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama or his representatives.
“The United States remains focused on our robust and unwavering support for Tibet, including the 6 million Tibetans in the PRC and the global diaspora,” the email said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“We also continue to with our partners in the international community to shine a light on PRC human rights abuses against Tibetans, its policy of Sinicization and eliminating Tibetans’ cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage, and its attempts to undermine freedom of religion or belief through efforts to co-opt the Dalai Lama’s succession,” it said.
Additional reporting and writing by Tashi Wangchuk for RFA Tibetan. Translated by Khando Yangzom for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.