(TibetanReview.net, Jun16, 2018) – The Dalai Lama on Jun 14 met with a group of Lithuanian lawmakers who support the Tibetan cause and the country’s first President after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and gave a public talk on “The Art of Happiness” on a welcome by the city mayor as he concluded a four-day visit to capital Vilnius.
He told the group of eight lawmakers who called on him at his hotel that the people in Tibet’s spirit remained strong and support from people like them gave them courage. “It also sends a clear message to Chinese hardliners that the Tibetan issue has to be dealt with in a realistic way. Therefore, I would like to thank you on behalf of the six million Tibetans.”
Noticing that some of the supporters in the audience carried Tibetan national flags, the Dalai Lama recalled that while visiting Beijing in 1954-55, Chairman Mao suggested that Tibet could fly itself own alongside the Red Flag.
A provisional Group for Solidarity with Tibetans was set up in the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) on Nov 17, 2017. It was initiated by Seimas members Mr Andrius Navickas, Mr Arūnas Gelūnas, Mrs Monika Navickienė and Mr Vytautas Kernagis after their meeting with the Dalai Lama in Latvia‘s capital Riga in Sep 2017. The group is currently chaired by Mr Andrius Navickas and has Mr Arūnas Gelūnas as the Vice Chair.
And meeting with the country’s first president Prof Vytautas Landsbergis, the Dalai Lama recalled the excitement he felt back then. “How happy I was when you invited me here in 1991. I was so moved and impressed by the people’s joy, enthusiasm and determination. It was an honour to be here among you.”
In his public talk on the Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama, welcomed by Mayor Remigijus Šimašius, sought to drive home the point that “If we really thought of the rest of humanity as our brothers and sisters there’d be no room for killing, bullying and cheating one another.”
He repeated his appreciation to the many in the crowd of 2,500 carrying Tibetan national flags in the context of what China’s Mao had told him during his 1954-55 visit to China.
The talk was organised by House of Tibet, a non-governmental organisation based in Vilnius.
