Dalai Lama visits Finland

Friday, August 19, 2011

Helsinki Times
By JAMES O’SULLIVAN

The 14th Dalai Lama

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama arrives in Finland this week for the fifth visit of his tenure, to give two public talks at Espoo’s Barona Arena on Saturday 20 August. The first is a Buddhist teaching on Eight Verses of Mind Training at 10 am, followed by a non-Buddhist talk entitled the “Power of Compassion” in the afternoon.

Having previously visited Finland in 1988, 1996, 1998 and 2006, he will probably only meet one Finnish government minister during his time here, the Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala (Greens).

The Dalai Lama’s arrival comes at a critical time for Tibet, with last week seeing the swearing-in of his successor, Lobsang Sangay, a 43-year-old Harvard scholar. Now head of the Tibetan government in exile, Sangay is officially the movement’s political leader, with the Dalai Lama retaining his position as spiritual head of the beleaguered nation.

Living in exile in India since 1959, the Dalai Lama frequently shares his views about compassion and humanity during trips around the globe. Furthermore, his efforts in seeking a peaceful and non-violent solution to the political situation in Tibet earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

With up to 10,000 people expected to attend on Saturday, the Dalai Lama will also field questions from the audience. Furthermore, Finnish, Swedish and Russian-speaking patrons on Saturday can access real-time translations of events via rented headphones during the talks.