The Dalai Lama expressed serious regret for making objective comments on next Dalai Lama, if it were to be a woman. He said a female Dalai Lama would have to be ¡°more attractive.¡±
"(In) responding to a question about whether his own reincarnation could be a woman, and suggesting that if she were she should be attractive, His Holiness genuinely meant no offence," the statement said.
"He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies."
His comments during a BBC interview that aired last week attracted worldwide criticism.?
"If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive," he had said.
"If female Dalai Lama, oh, oh... that people, I think prefer, not see her, that face."
AFP
According to his office, the Dalai Lama has "a keen sense of the contradictions between the materialistic, globalised world he encounters on his travels and the complex, more esoteric ideas about reincarnation that are at the heart of Tibetan Buddhist tradition. However, it sometimes happens that off the cuff remarks, which might be amusing in one cultural context, lose their humour in translation when brought into another."
The statement adds that the Dalai Lama, the monk in his eighties, opposes the objectification of women and supports gender equality, under his leadership.
The statement said the original context of His Holiness referring to the physical appearance of a female successor was a conversation with the then Paris editor of Vogue magazine.
"She asked if a future Dalai Lama could be a woman. His Holiness replied, 'Certainly, if that would be more helpful,' adding, as a joke, that she should be attractive. He was at least partially responding to the unfamiliar ambience of working with a team whose prime focus was the world of high fashion," the statement said.
BCCL
On another controversy during the interview were the comments in refugees. In the interview, he had reiterated his views on immigration to Europe, saying that the continent should educate immigrants with a view to them returning home.
"But whole Europe eventually become Muslim country? Impossible. Or African country. Also impossible... Keep Europe for Europeans," he had said.
The statement, defending him, said that his comments have been misinterpreted. The communique says that he "appreciates that many of those who leave their countries may not wish or be able to return".
"He suggests that a solution to many of the problems we face in the world today is to remind ourselves that as human beings we are all brothers and sisters belonging to one human family, and that together we can take action to address the global challenges that confront us."
The Dalai Lama lives in India since his self-imposed exile from Tibet in 1959 after Chinese troops infiltrated the region.?