Kiev, Ukraine — A four-day photo exhibition on Tibet was held in Kiev the capital city of Ukraine on Wednesday, providing a window for Ukrainians to better understand the issue of Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The exhibition entitled 'The Dalai Lama – As Long As Space Remains' -- efforts to spread His Holiness' message of love, compassion, kindness and tolerance, which is especially relevant in the modern world.
On his first visit to Ukraine, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Honorary Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Russia, Mongolia and CIS countries, gave a public talk in Kiev titled "Dalai lama: Buddhist principles for the modern world", according to the Office of Tibet, Russia.
Addressing the 200 strong audiences, Rinpoche briefly introduced himself saying that although he has never been to Ukraine before, he feels a strong connection with its people.
Rinpoche explained that since assuming the post of the Honorary Representative he feels an obligation to be an extension of His Holiness's the Dalai Lama's activities and make efforts to support his message of love, compassion, kindness and tolerance, which is especially relevant in the modern world.
He also elaborated on the main commitments of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – promoting the human values and inter-religious harmony – and stressed the importance of dialogue to benefit mutual trust and understanding in all the aspects of our daily life.
During the Q&A session that followed the talk, people asked how to deal with conflicts, how to control one's emotions without losing compassion and sense of care for others, and is it possible to wake up others to the idea of basic oneness of human beings.
In answering the questions Rinpoche quoted the advice that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been giving to the Tibetan people: Plan for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
The representative explained that it's unrealistic to expect the changes to happen overnight, but the important thing is not to give up and remain optimistic, because hope keeps us going on.
Concluding the talk Rinpoche once again expressed his gratitude to the organisers and said that this gathering planted seeds for the future meetings. The exhibition moved on to Odessa, the third most populous city of the Country after a four-day journey in Kyiv till November 5, 2016.
The talk was hosted by the organisers of the travelling photo exhibition titled, 'The Dalai Lama – As Long As Space Remains' and representatives of the Ukrainian Buddhist groups.
Tibet was invaded by Communist China in 1949. Since that time, over 1.2 million out of 6 million Tibetans have been killed, over 6000 monasteries have been destroyed— acts of murder, rape and arbitrary imprisonment, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment were inflicted on the Tibetans inside Tibet, Beijing calls a "peaceful liberation".
In 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama along with thousands of others escaped to India, where he was given political asylum. The spiritual leader has set up a government and rebuilt monasteries where masters pass on their teachings to young monks. Tibetans in exile have succeeded in gradually rebuilding their monasteries, preserving their culture and restructuring their society and keeping it alive, in spite of the extremely difficult circumstances.
