World Tibet Network News Saturday, April 11, 1998

TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) - A Tokyo convention centre transformed itself into a worshipping hall on Saturday as more than a thousand Buddhists and non-Buddhists gathered to listen to the holy teachings of Tibet's Dalai Lama.

For many, it was a rare opportunity to meet and pose questions to Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, whose visit to Japan comes at a time when Buddhism's sagging popularity in the region has become a hot topic.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Michelle Rankl Sherpa, a Swiss librarian who was accompanied by her Nepali husband Lakhba Sherpa.

"I am interested in Tibet and in what he has to say," she said. "Much of my knowledge about Buddhism comes from being with my husband and seeing him do the rituals and ceremonies."

During the day-long religious lecture at the Big Sight international exhibition centre, the audience, who each paid as much as 32,000 yen ($250) to hear him speak, seemed charmed by the Dalai Lama's preaching and advice on religious and non-religious issues alike.

"He'a trying to teach 'let's get together and make this 21st century a peaceful one...our problems can be solved by dialogue through non-violence'," said Jurme Wangda, a senior official with the Liaison Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, which coordinated the event.

The spiritual leader, who is revered as a living god in his native Tibet, himself admitted that he often made mistakes and that there were many things that were beyond his grasp.

"There are many things I don't know. I don't know computers or how to calculate. Sometimes I used my rosary beads for calculation," he joked.

The Dalai Lama, speaking on the last day of a week-long trip that has taken him to Tokyo and Kyoto, earlier in his visit pledged with other top priests at an international Buddhist conference to restore several sacred sites to boost waning interest in the religion.

Successful inroads by Christian missionaries and bickering among Buddhism's many sects have been cited as some of the reasons behind the decline in the ancient religion.

For his part, the Dalai Lama rejected the notion that Buddhism was losing ground to other religions, but admitted that too much emphasis had been placed on rituals and not enough on understanding the concepts behind the religion.

"Sometimes the people, while they have kept up the traditions and rituals, have lost their essential meaning. I think that is the reason why the public is losing interest," he told a news conference late on Friday.

The Dalai Lama's trip has not been without some controversy.

During the Friday news conference, the Dalai Lama refused to answer any political questions to avoid antagonising China which tried to block his visit.

Beijing has feared the spiritual leader would use the trip to promote independence for Tibet, from where he fled almost 40 years ago after an abortive uprising against Chinese communist rule.

"There is pressure on the host country wherever the Dalai Lama goes. Even here in Japan too. Because of that we cannot sort of tell people that his holiness is coming," Wangda said.

But for some people, that has created even greater awareness of the Tibetan cause.

"I heard about the Chinese pressure and that his trip was delayed because of this," said waitress Sawako Yokoyama.

"I think Tibet should be free."