Dalai Lama - Politics and Religion

The Dalai Lama of Tibet works with a mission to increase the recognition of human rights around the world, for every human being. In addition, he seeks religious harmony and understanding along world religions; he wishes people to focus on the similarities of the religions, most of which want peace.

He wishes also that traditions of religions be respected by other religions, believing himself that multiple religions are necessary in a world of peoples.

His third life's purpose, as it were, is to establish recognition of human rights and freedoms in Tibet.

In March of 1959, the Dalai Lama was invited by some Chinese Officials to join them at an entertainment event. He was then sent a list of conditions for the event, including not having any Tibetan military personnel with him.

After performing religious questionings as per tradition, the Dalai Lama disguised himself as a foot-soldier on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day in the West, interestingly) and fled Tibet in order to thwart a capture and possible execution.

The Dalai Lama of Tibet has long criticized China politically for its stances of "unimaginable and gross' human rights violations" against Tibet and its peoples.

The Dalai Lama was exiled and fled to India and Pakistan in 1949 after unsuccessfully standing against Chinese invasion of Tibet. Some political analysts concluded that the Dalai Lama increased his political criticism of China in order to help bring down the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Forty-nine years after his exile, the Dalai Lama upgraded his verbal attacks, severely scolded China in speeches in Dharamsala, India and elsewhere: "For nearly six decades, Tibetans have had to live in a state of constant fear under Chinese repression."

On the other hand, Chinese officials maintained in 2008 that the Dalai Lama wished to destroy the success of August 2008 Beijing Summer Games in retaliation for his defeat in Tibet and exile to India and Pakistan.

Some officials claimed that the Dalai Lama is the head of a coalition of conspiracies perpetrated in an attempt to prevent the Summer Games form occurring. However, no particulars or details were given. No such uprising occurred.

While the Dalai Lama maintains in the 2010s that he no longer wants independence for Tibet, he seeks a larger religious and political independence for the country. However, some Chinese officials claim that he wants both to provide independence from China for Tibet and to ruin projects like the Beijing Olympics in a bid to gain sympathy for his political and religious cause.