Dalai Lama on ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’

“I am demon. With horn!” The Dalai Lama teases China who is describing him as a demon.

The Dalai Lama was interviewed on Sunday during Last Week Tonight with John Oliver .[/tweetit] The resulting conversation was endearing and educational. The Dalai Lama is regarded as Tibetab Buddhists' spiritual figure-head. He lives in exile in India after he fled from China occupied Tibet in the 1950s. Since then, he made India his home, and served as leader of Tibetan government in exile up to the time he retired in 2011. The Dalai Lama continues to be spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists.

Dalai Lama on ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'[/tweetthis]

Oliver started his program by sharing the relevant background information concerning Tibet, then proceeded to air the segment of the interview he recorded with Dalai Lama. It is to be noted he had visited India for this interaction. The first part of the interview consisted about Oliver saying the Dalai Lama was hated by the Chinese Government, saying that a Chinese Government functionary has described his Holines as wolf swaddled in the clothes of a monk. Oliver even playfully asked the Dalai Lama that he does not appear like a bad wolf. His Holiness gave a huge grin and said the Chinese Government “describes me as a demon.” He then laughed and said he agrees to the description and raised both his hands to the side of head and pointed his two fingers toward the sky, imitating a child's depiction of Lucifer and said “Yes. I’m demon. With horn!”

The Dalai Lama continued on to say he has no negative feelings towards the Chinese, but laughs at their actions. He said that he practices taking others' distrust, anger and suspicion and giving back compassion, patience and tolerance. Oliver then broached the subject of China controversially appointing a Beijing backed “Panchen Lama,” an important figure having a deep influence in Tibetan Buddhism. The principal role of the Panchen Lama is to find new Dalai Lama when His Holiness will end his last breath. This move was done clearly to control the monks following Tibetan Buddhism.

A number of other important issues were also discussed by the Briton. The list included Chinese involvement inside Tibet, the self-immolation practice and if there is a possibility of the present Dalai Lama becoming the last of the kind. The Chinese Government had done everything which could be done to lower the power of Dalai Lama, after his exile in 1959.

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