H.H. the Dalai Lama Concludes His Argentina Visit

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3rd May 2006 (tibet.net) - Yesterday His Holiness the Dalai Lama concluded his visit to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, with four important public events.

Yesterday morning His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed the annual conference of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), an international network of young corporate presidents.  In his address to the YPO gathering, which was attended by around 500 YPO members, His Holiness emphasised the importance of ethics in leadership.  He commented that the success of leadership, whether it is political, business, social sector etc, depended very much on genuine trust.  Genuine trust, he explained, can only be gained by sharing a sense of caring for others, rather than implementing the rules and regulations or the use of power.  His Holiness brought the attention of the business leaders to the global environmental issues and the consequences of the huge economic gap between the rich and the poor whether at the local, national or international levels.  While speaking about Tibet and its culture His Holiness mentioned that since the rich Tibetan cultural heritage has a huge potential to serve the humanity in this 21st century, it is the responsibility of the international community to protect the rich Tibetan cultural heritage and civilization.  If the Tibetan cultural heritage disappears from this planet, it will be a great loss not only to the Tibetan people but also to the whole humanity.

In the afternoon, His Holiness gave the second part of the teaching on Seven-Point Mind Training to the Buddhist community of Argentina at the La Rural Convention Center. Like previous day, the lecture was attended by more than 4,000 people.

Following the lecture, His Holiness participated in an Inter-religious Prayer for Peace with religious leaders from other traditions: Rev. Presbitero Matias Moreo, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, Swami Pareshnanda of Hindu Tradition, Rev. Rabind Sergio Bergman of Jewish tradition, Shekh BAriel Mohsen Al and Umar Abboud of Islamic tradition, and Ven. Chueh Kai of Korean Buddhist tradition.  In his discourse at the gathering, His Holiness reminded the audience of around 7,000 people that every religious tradition enjoyed equal potential to serve the humanity and all the religious traditions carried the same message of love, compassion, tolerance, etc.

Therefore, he advised the audience to learn to respect the other religious traditions while sincerely following their own religious tradition.

From 3:30 to 5:00 in the evening, His Holiness addressed 300 Argentinean intellectuals and opinion makers on Ethics, Culture, Social Stability at the prestigious MALBA auditorium (Latin American Arts Museum in Buenos Aires).

The event was also attended by Argentinean Nobel Peace Laureate Mr. Adolfo Perez Esquivel and Buenos Aires City Major Mr. Jorge Telerman, .

Towards the end of the event, while paying a rich tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his ceaseless efforts in promoting basic human values and religious harmony in the world, the City Mayor Mr. Jorge Telerman declared His Holiness as an Honorary Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires, with the presentation of a formal declaration Certificate and plaque.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's three-day visit to Buenos Aires turned out to be extremely successful. The national and local media as well as the public paid an immense attention to His Holiness' visit.

Today His Holiness the Dalai Lama will leave for Chile.

Report submitted by Liaison Office, Latin America, New york