Respect every religion and culture, says Dalai Lama

Bangalore: The Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama visited the national convention of the principals of Anglo-Indian schools in Bangalore on Sunday January 5 and addressed the gathering on religious and cultural issues.

Appraising the work of Christian missionaries, he said that missionaries have reached  the remotest areas to provide education and health. At the same time,he advised them to refrain from conversion.

He said religions grow out of specific cultural and social contexts and it is logically to address our own culture but not to disrupt the culture of someone else. Conversion could sometime lead to conflict between people and within a person, he said and added that he would never preach Buddhism in a non-Buddhist country.

The Dalai Lama emphasized the need to achieve peace as something necessary for a “social animal” and not necessarily as a religious practice. He said that this was increasingly essential in an interconnected world where each one’s future depends on the wellbeing of the entire humanity.”We must respect our culture and religion as well as others,” he said.