Dalai Lama praises Modi’s temple plan

The Dalai Lama declared on Friday that he is spiritually an Indian but physically a Tibetan.

The Dalai Lama was responding to Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of building a Buddhist temple in Gujarat that would also be a centre for research into similarities and dissimilarities among eastern and western religious thinking.

Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day International Seminar on Buddhist Heritage in Gujarat at the Maharaja Sayajirao University on Friday afternoon, Modi said that this event would earn Gujarat its rightful place in the Buddhist map of the world.

Speakers from countries where Buddhism is prevalent were all praise for Modi, especially the Dalai Lama .

Responding to Modi’s hope that the Buddhist sites excavated in Gujarat would promote tourism in the state, Dalai Lama said that the idea of Buddha temple with a research centre would definitely attract scholars here.

Elaborating on how the research centre could contribute to new ideas, the Dalai Lama said that ‘how to tackle destructive emotion is Buddhist science’.

Recalling his Indian connection for half-a-decade, the Dalai Lama said that he is very much Indian as his body has been sustained by India’s food for all these years. “We must respect all religions, must respect values of all religions,” said the Dalai Lama.