His Holiness the Dalai Lama, on a visit to Iceland this past weekend,
told reporters at a press conference yesterday that he identifies
himself as a “Marxist, but not a Leninist”, and discussed the future of
Tibet.
“From a social and economic point of view, I am a Marxist,” he told reporters. “but I am not a Leninist,” explaining that Leninists hunger for power. He added that in 1954, he travelled to Beijing with the intention of joining the Communist Party. He met Mao Tse Tung, but said that “by the middle of the Sixties, power had corrupted him.”
When asked about Chinese-Tibetan relations, the Dalai Lama was quick to point out what he considered to be encouraging signs. For example, he said, in the past year over 400 articles had been written in Chinese newspapers which sympathized with the plight of the Tibetans and were critical of the Chinese government’s treatment of the country.
The Dalai Lama began the meeting by telling the crowd that he considers himself to be just one person among six billion and nothing more, and that all faiths draw from three basic principles: love, compassion and unity.
“People who think first and foremost of money and power,” he cautioned, “please show your inner qualities a little attention.”