Dalai Lama pitches for female successor

Toronto: The Dalai Lama, who wound up his three-day visit here by leading prayers at the newly opened Tibetan cultural centre, doesn't rule out a female successor.

The purpose of the Dalal Lama's reincarnation is to serve the Buddha, the 14th Dalai Lama told a week-end audience of more than 15,000 at the city' Rogers Centre.

"If a female reincarnation is more useful - why not?" he retorted when asked if the next Dalai Lama could be a female.

In his typical jovial style, he explained the two advantages of having a female Dalai Lama.

The first advantage, he said, is that females are "biologically more sensitive about others' pain'' than males.

The other advantage of having a female Dalai Lama is that she would be a lot more attractive than him, he said amid peels of laugher.

The spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetans said he was now looking for retirement after his long innings at the helm.

"I am looking forward to complete retirement. If I have human rights, I should have the right to retire,'' he said, letting off his trademark infectious laugh.

Giving an assessment of himself, the 75-year-old pontiff joked, "I am certainly not the best Dalai Lama of the 14, and certainly not the worst. But I am a popular Dalai Lama.''

Speaking on "Human Approaches to Peace,'' the Dalai Lama said amid laughter that peace will not "drop from the sky. We should create some visions (on) how to build a healthy world.''

He said peace can be ushered in only through dialogue. But unfortunately in the century gone by, he said, governments resorted to violence to settle differences.

Referring to his own plight at the hands of the Chinese, he said, "At 16, I lost my freedom, at the age of 24 I lost my own country.

Now, at 75, what I learned is the power of talk. In the spirit of dialogue, you can't have one side that is defeated and one side win. Open your hearts; consider others.''

The Dalai Lama also opened the local Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre where about 5,000 people, mostly Tibetans, prayed for his long life and sought his blessings Sunday.

The Dalai Lama is an honorary citizen of Canada where about 5,000 Tibetans live.