General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhen the Dalai Lama gave a speech to Congress
and received a Congressional Medal of Honor, were DUers complaining that it was inappropriate for a religious leader to speak to Congress?
http://www.dalailama.com/messages/acceptance-speeches/congressional-gold-medal
Speech by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama at the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony (Video of His Holiness's acceptance speech here.)
President Bush, Speaker Pelosi, Senator Byrd, my fellow Laureate Elie Wiesel, Honourable Members of Congress, Brothers and Sisters.
It is a great honour for me to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. This recognition will bring tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people, for whom I have a special responsibility. Their welfare is my constant motivation and I always consider myself as their free spokesperson. I believe that this award also sends a powerful message to those many individuals who are dedicated to promoting peace, understanding and harmony.
On a personal note, I am deeply touched that this great honour has been given to me, a Buddhist monk born of a simple family from the remote Amdo region of Tibet. As a child I grew up under the loving care of my mother, a truly compassionate woman. And after my arrival in Lhasa at the age of four, all the people around me, my teachers and even the housekeepers, taught me what it means to be kind, honest, and caring. It is in such an environment that I grew up. Later my formal education in Buddhist thought exposed me to concepts such as interdependence and the human potential for infinite compassion. It is these that gave me a profound recognition of the importance of universal responsibility, non-violence, and inter-religious understanding. Today, it is a conviction in these values that gives me the powerful motivation to promote basic human values. Even in my own struggle for the rights and greater freedom of the Tibetan people, these values continue to guide my commitment to pursuing a non-violent path.
SNIP
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I am glad the pope is getting so much respect from our leaders. It shows they are adults and mature. This pope is incredible. The best in history. He even puts John-Paul to shame.
Response to pnwmom (Original post)
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pnwmom
(109,021 posts)And then I read that he said something about how handsome he'd been, and the reporter wasn't sure whether he was joking or not.
But looking at his picture at the time, he was quite good looking . . . maybe he does think that's a requirement!
Kind of changes my ideas about Buddhism . . .
840high
(17,196 posts)AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)JI7
(89,283 posts)The complaint isn't really about him being a religious figure as much as his views on certain issues.
pnwmom
(109,021 posts)he shouldn't have been invited to speak to Congress -- regardless of his views on any issues.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Did he use the opportunity to preach intolerance towards lgbt people and women?
Stop being an apologist for a bigot who thinks I should be forced to give birth and lgbt people shouldn't be allowed to get married or have children.
Disgusting.
ozone_man
(4,825 posts)So he always gets free pass.
I really don't think religious leaders of any stripe should be allowed to speak in front of congress. It goes against our founding principles of separation of church and state.
pnwmom
(109,021 posts)and speeches since the earliest days of the Republic -- so it's hard to argue that it goes against founding principles.