Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says the world is moving toward more freedom and democracy and that China has to go along with this trend.
Speaking Monday in the southern U.S. city of Atlanta, the Dalai Lama said he does not think that capitalism alone can transform China into a democracy.
The Tibetan spiritual leader met Monday in Atlanta with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, who serves as the U.S. coordinator on Tibet.
The French news agency (AFP) quotes an anonymous State Department official as saying that the meeting was a "private discussion on issues of mutual interest."
The official said the U.S. supports "dialogue" between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama to "resolve differences" but does not support Tibet's independence.
Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in the city of Atlanta in Georgia Saturday afternoon. He began his first of a three-day program at Emory University Sunday morning by addressing a press meet together with University President James Wagner. As a presidential distinguished professor at Emory, the Dalai Lama provides private teaching sessions with students and faculty who travel to visit him in India as part of a study abroad program.
The Dalai Lama deliberated with scientists and educators on the state of current research on empathy and compassion, the scientific study of meditation practices for cultivating compassion, and the implementation of such meditation programmes in various clinical and educational settings.
The conference, under the theme of “Mapping Current Research and Charting Future Directions” included panelists from Emory University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Stanford University, the three universities that are conducting on-going scientific research on compassion meditation.
The Dalai Lama on Monday spoke at a breakfast meeting with business leaders and philanthropists who endeavored to help build long-term support for the 'Tibetan Settlement Revitalization Program' at an event organised by the US-based International Campaign for Tibet.
The Tibetan spiritual leader is on a nine-day trip through North America, which began October 12 in California. He will also visit the U.S. cities of Cincinnati (Ohio) before continuing on to Canada.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, ICT, Dalailama.com
