Dalai Lama: Pope Francis ‘dedicated himself to the service of others’

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama attends a long life prayer offered to him by his students and devotees at his temple in McLeod Ganj, some 10 Km from Dharamsala on October 25, 2023. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

NEW DELHI — Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama praised Pope Francis on Monday, offering Buddhist prayers and writing to the papal envoy to “express his sadness” at his death.

“Pope Francis dedicated himself to the service of others… consistently revealing by his own actions how to live a simple, but meaningful life,” the Buddhist leader said in a statement from his base in exile in India.

“The best tribute we can pay to him is to be a warm-hearted person, serving others wherever and in whatever way we can”.

READ: Pope Francis has died – Vatican

Buddhist monks in the main Tibetan temple in India’s northern hill town of Dharamsala — the base of the Dalai Lama — were to hold a memorial service, a statement added.

The death of the pope aged 88 has particular resonance for Buddhist followers.

Many see the Dalai Lama — who will celebrate his 90th birthday in July — as akin to a “papal institution” not just for Tibetan Buddhists, but also for Himalayan regions of India, Bhutan and Nepal, as well as Mongolia and some Russian republics.

READ: Pope Francis: Remembering his life, teachings and legacy – Live Updates

The Dalai Lama stepped down as his people’s political head in 2011, passing the baton of secular power to a government chosen democratically by Tibetans around the world.

But as the Dalai Lama approaches his landmark birthday, many exiled Tibetans fear that when he passes, China will name a successor to bolster control over a land it poured troops into in 1950.

China calls the India-based Tibetan administration a “puppet government”.

Penpa Tsering, the sikyong or head of that government, said that Pope Francis had “embodied the true spirit of compassion and universal brotherhood”.

READ: Pope Francis leaves door open to Dalai Lama meeting

Tsering, also based in northern India, offered “heartfelt condolences” to the Catholic faithful.

“In these difficult times, we stand in solidarity with the global Catholic community in mourning this profound loss”, he said in a statement.

“May Pope Francis’s vision of a more compassionate and just world continue to guide us all.”