Imagine 2 billion people together: Dalai Lama asks India, China to explore their potential

NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama has a new proposition for neighbour nations India and China. 

“Whether we like it or not, India and China have to live side by side and if they work together there is huge potential. Imagine more than 2 billion people working together,” said the Tibetan spiritual leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

“Most Chinese follow the Nalanda thought of Buddhism,” he further added.

Nalanda, 90 kilometers away from Bihar's capital city Patna, was the centre of a large Buddhist monastery.

The spiritual leader, who fled Tibet during the 1959 uprising, currently lives in exile in India.

China considers him a dangerous separatist and doesn't approve of foreign diplomats visiting the Dalai Lama and vice versa.

The Dalai Lama is expected to reach Bodh Gaya, the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment, in December for a 50-day-long tour.

"The Dalai Lama will arrive in Bodh Gaya on December 26. His tour will be 50-day-long. During his stay, the Dalai Lama will be offering discourses at the Kalchakra Maidan on January 5-7 and again on January 14-16", Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee member Arvind Kumar Singh said.

"The Dalai Lama is also expected to receive a number of heads of state from ASEAN countries who are likely to visit Delhi for attending the Republic Day celebrations and then fly to Bodh Gaya to seek the blessings of the revered spiritual leader", he said.