Buddhists worldwide watched with keen interest when His Holiness the Dalai Lama recently visited a Japanese city which was hit by the 9 magnitude earthquake earlier in the year. Sherab Woeser has reported for Phayul.com "The Dalai Lama braves radiation threat, Interacts with victims."
Just prior to the Dalai Lama's recent arrival in Fukushima prefecture a geiger counter device, which is used for detecting radiation, when placed on the ground in the middle of the city, showed a reading of 2.28 microsievert/hour. This level is dangerously bordering on the radiation level which is considered hazardous for human life if continuously exposed for a year. There have been nuclear radiation leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, which suffered major damage to its cooling system which is 60 kms from Koriyama, following the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami earlier in the year.
There have been over 200,000 people evacuated from the Fukushima prefecture. Many of the people who were evacuated never returned, while those who did, had their families separated and their livelihoods destroyed. The Dalai Lama told a large audience at the Nihon University in Koriyama that a calm mind, self-confidence and holistic approach during tragic circumstances were essential to confront such problems.
And the Dalai Lama commented that as social animals and part of the human society we must use our human intelligence and help those suffering. The Dalai Lama also said to the victims of this disaster that that they are not alone, and that the whole humanity is with them. The warmhearted presence and words of the Dalai Lama for the Japanese during this time of horrible hardships has been genuinely appreciated.
