<SNIP>
Would you advise Bush to find a way of leaving Iraq to the Iraqis? Actually, after that unbelievable event happened, September 11, I wrote a letter the very next day to President Bush. While I expressed my sadness and condolences, I also wrote about the counter measures for such a terrible tragedy—I believe non-violence is the most effective countermeasure and that’s what I wrote about.
It’s tough to teach non-violence to Bush, even for the Dalai Lama. Of course, he and the White House take full responsibility. I am an outsider and an outsider may not fully understand the reality he faces. Just like the Tibetan problem, which I know, but an outsider may sometimes not understand. So you can’t blame everything on President Bush, poor Bush!
Well, at least there is somebody you can blame all the problems of the world on right now. (both laugh). You know there is a Buddhist concept—interdependency, interconnectedness. I think it’s very important to keep that in mind. If you look only at one event, then it’s very easy to say: ‘This is wrong’ or ‘This is right’. But if you look at things from a wider angle, then the picture may be different. These are very complicated matters. I blame these negative events on our past negligence about our inner values. I think the reality of the 20th century and now of the 21st century, the reality of the whole planet, is something very different. Everything is interdependent, that is the reality. But we are still using old concepts to deal with it—there’s ‘we’ and there’s ‘they’.
But that is how Bush looks at the world—you are either with us or you are against us. I think that is too simple.
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full interview here:
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=80666Its long, but it is candid and you get to know many things about the Dalai Lama