The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader exiled from Tibet, said he supported Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s goal of ending whaling. The Buddhist leader said after an 11-day tour of Japan that all actions to prevent the harming of whales should be “non-violent,” Sea Shepherd reported on their website.
It comes as the international community is meeting in Morocco to look into a new proposal that could see a 24-year moratorium lifted on whaling.
“His Holiness the Dalai Lama said at a media conference in Japan that he continues to support the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society,” said Captain Paul Watson of the society in a press statement.
“He [Dalai Lama] did rebuke us and said to his Japanese hosts that our activities should be non-violent. He issued this criticism in response to accusations by some in Japan who have accused Sea Shepherd of violence during our interventions against the annual bloody slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary,” said Captain Watson.
Captain Watson continued “The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society agrees with His Holiness on the imperative of taking a non-violent approach, but also believes that the Japanese government has misinformed him of the activities of the Society.
“We are in agreement with the Dalai Lama on this and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has never caused an injury to any individual. Reports that we have caused injuries have been fabricated for public relations purposes. We take every precaution to not cause injury, although we do destroy property that is used to take the life of sentient beings and for this we make no apologies. This year the Society has directly saved the lives of 528 whales and over 800 endangered Bluefin tuna. We are in the business of saving lives and not inflicting harm.”
The Dalai Lama is an advocate of non-killing and has been an ardent supporter of non-violence as an international leader.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said it respects the Dalai Lama and his guidance is of great value to the Society.
“The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will continue to intervene against the illegal slaughter of these gentle Buddha’s of the sea and we will continue to do it exercising the utmost caution to not cause of harm to any person but rather to be the cause of saving the lives of hundreds of sentient beings from the mercilessly ruthless harpoons of the Japanese whaling fleet,” it added in its statement.
Source: bikyamasr.com
