Dalai Lama Says Knew of Sex Abuse by Buddhist Gurus
THE HAGUE (Dispatches) -- The Dalai Lama said Sunday he has known about sexual abuse by Buddhist teachers since the 1990s and that such allegations are "nothing new".
The Tibetan spiritual leader, revered by millions of Buddhists around the world, made the admission during a four-day visit to the Netherlands, where he met on Friday with victims of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Buddhist teachers.
He was responding to a call from a dozen of the victims who had launched a petition asking to meet him during his trip, part of a tour of Europe.
"We found refuge in Buddhism with an open mind and heart, until we were raped in its name," the victims said in their petition.
"I already did know these things, nothing new," the Dalai Lama said in response on Dutch public television NOS late Saturday.
"Twenty-five years ago... someone mentioned about a problem of sexual allegations" at a conference for western Buddhist teachers in Dharamshala, a hill town in northern India, he added.
The Dalai Lama, 83, lives in exile in Dharamshala.
People who commit sexual abuse "don't care about the Buddha's teaching. So now that everything has been made public, people may concern about their shame," he said, speaking in English.
Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, a representative of the Tibetan spiritual leader in Europe, said Friday that the Dalai Lama "has consistently denounced such irresponsible and unethical behavior".
Tibetan spiritual leaders are due to meet in Dharamshala in November.
"At that time they should talk about it," the Dalai Lama said in his televised comments Saturday. "I think the religious leaders should pay more attention."
The Tibetan spiritual leader sparked anger this week after saying "Europe belongs to Europeans” and that refugees need to return to their countries.
Speaking at a conference in Sweden's third-largest city of Malmö, which is home to a large refugee population, the Dalai Lama said the refugees should ultimately "develop their own country”.
His remarks set off anger among social media users, who called him a "bigot of the first order” and a "hypocrite”.
The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is followed by millions of Buddhists around the world. Almost a million Rohingya Muslims are now living in the largest refugee camps in the world in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution and violent attacks by Buddhist extremists and government troops in Myanmar.
It was not the first time the Dalai Lama made controversial remarks about asylum seekers.
In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter, back in 2016, he said that there were "too many refugees” in Europe and that "Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country.”
His new remarks come at a time of a rise in nationalist, anti-immigrant sentiments in European countries, in particular in Germany, Austria and Italy.
The Tibetan spiritual leader, revered by millions of Buddhists around the world, made the admission during a four-day visit to the Netherlands, where he met on Friday with victims of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Buddhist teachers.
He was responding to a call from a dozen of the victims who had launched a petition asking to meet him during his trip, part of a tour of Europe.
"We found refuge in Buddhism with an open mind and heart, until we were raped in its name," the victims said in their petition.
"I already did know these things, nothing new," the Dalai Lama said in response on Dutch public television NOS late Saturday.
"Twenty-five years ago... someone mentioned about a problem of sexual allegations" at a conference for western Buddhist teachers in Dharamshala, a hill town in northern India, he added.
The Dalai Lama, 83, lives in exile in Dharamshala.
People who commit sexual abuse "don't care about the Buddha's teaching. So now that everything has been made public, people may concern about their shame," he said, speaking in English.
Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, a representative of the Tibetan spiritual leader in Europe, said Friday that the Dalai Lama "has consistently denounced such irresponsible and unethical behavior".
Tibetan spiritual leaders are due to meet in Dharamshala in November.
"At that time they should talk about it," the Dalai Lama said in his televised comments Saturday. "I think the religious leaders should pay more attention."
The Tibetan spiritual leader sparked anger this week after saying "Europe belongs to Europeans” and that refugees need to return to their countries.
Speaking at a conference in Sweden's third-largest city of Malmö, which is home to a large refugee population, the Dalai Lama said the refugees should ultimately "develop their own country”.
His remarks set off anger among social media users, who called him a "bigot of the first order” and a "hypocrite”.
The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is followed by millions of Buddhists around the world. Almost a million Rohingya Muslims are now living in the largest refugee camps in the world in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution and violent attacks by Buddhist extremists and government troops in Myanmar.
It was not the first time the Dalai Lama made controversial remarks about asylum seekers.
In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter, back in 2016, he said that there were "too many refugees” in Europe and that "Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country.”
His new remarks come at a time of a rise in nationalist, anti-immigrant sentiments in European countries, in particular in Germany, Austria and Italy.