The Dalai Lama has had a series of meetings in the UK, with figures including Gordon Brown, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Prince Charles.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor also met with the Dalai Lama at an inter-religious meeting hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace on Friday morning.
Following a meditation from the Dalai Lama there was a conversation among the religious leaders, which ended with a period of silent reflection.
Small groups of demonstrators gathered outside, including pro-Beijing supporters and members of the Western Shugden Society, a Buddhist group which opposes the Dalai Lama.
Speaking of his meeting of the Dalai Lama the Archbishop said: “The religious leaders who had gathered to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama listened with great appreciation to what he had to say about the priority of compassion in all our religious traditions. He also spoke about the need for all of us to engage with our culture not only in the vocabulary of our specific convictions but out of a recognition of a common humanity a ‘secular ethics’ alongside the doctrines and disciplines of faith. A warm and searching discussion took place, and the meeting ended with a time of shared silence. It was a privilege to have this opportunity of engaging with a great spiritual teacher.”
The visit was the second time Archbishop Williams has received the Dalai Lama at Lambeth Palace. Prior to this, the Dalai Lama met Archbishop Runcie in 1981, 1984 & 1988 and Archbishop Carey in 1993 & 1999 all at Lambeth Palace.
The Dalai Lama also held closed-door talks Friday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has faced a diplomatic balancing act between backing Tibetan rights and not offending Beijing.
The meeting – held not in Brown’s Downing Street office, but at Lambeth Palace – was the most contentious part of his 11-day visit to Britain by the Tibetan spiritual leader, who is on a five-nation tour.
Neither Brown nor the 72-year-old Buddhist monk made any comment as they arrived at Lambeth Palace, the official office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Both of Brown’s immediate predecessors, Tony Blair and John Major, met with the Dalai Lama in the prime minister’s Downing Street offices. Brown’s decision not to do so has drawn criticism.
Brown’s aides have insisted he held talks with the 72-year-old Buddhist monk as a spiritual leader, and not as a political figure.
Speaking to the House of Commons foreign affairs committee on Thursday, the Dalai Lama played down the controversy over his meeting with Brown.
But asked if Britain was doing enough to support Tibet, he replied: “I think not enough.”
Brown, who said in March he was “unhappy” about China’s actions in Tibet, has rejected criticisms that he was willing to “kowtow” to Beijing, saying the location of the talks was not as important as the substance.
The Dalai Lama is in Britain until May 30, with talks on human rights and peace and meetings with lawmakers a part of his schedule. The meeting with Brown however, is likely to be the most closely watched.
He later met Prince Charles for talks about “spiritual matters” at his Clarence House residence. The Dalai Lama planted a tree there and prayed before the talks began.