The Tibetan spiritual leader praised the NZ Prime Minister for her management of the situation.

The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent a letter to Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. In the letter, he extended condolences and prayed over the horrifying Christchurch mosque shootings. The March 15 massacre killed a total of 50 people.

The length of the Dalai Lama’s letter was short and to the point. The Buddhist spiritual leader wrote that he offers his heartfelt prayers to those who died in the shooting. He also expressed condolences to their families and friends as well as to other New Zealanders. The letter then went on to state His Holiness considers himself as one among the seven billion population of humans all over the world. It is out of his mental grasp as to how people kill one another on the pretext of belonging to another faith and becoming hostile towards others solely on the other not following the same religious dogma. This is the reason, the Dalai Lama wrote, he is now more committed to promoting the oneness present in all humanity. It is a given fact that all human beings are emotionally, mentally, and physically identical.

The Dalai Lama ended this communication by fulsomely praising the determination and the leadership of New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern. He also admired the Government of New Zealand in its instant response to the shootings in the form of reforming the existing national gun laws. The administration accelerated the editing of its gun reform laws to ban military design semi-automatics and assault rifles. He said the determination of the Ardern administration to reform the gun laws would contribute to security and peace but reminded the Prime Minister that it is equally vital to resist fear and hatred through the cultivation of warm-heartedness as she has shown.

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship on March 22 published a letter with the title “To Muslim kin, from Buddhists in the wake of Christchurch.” The list of signatories on the letter includes members of East Bay Meditation Center, Students for a Free Tibet, and Nichiren Shu Order of North America. The letter stated the signatories support every Muslim’s right to live completely free from fear and vowed to tackle any anti-Muslim sentiment which makes them feel unsafe.

Resources

Follow the Conversation on Twitter