Dalai Lama on successor: 'If it is a female, the face should be very attractive'. or 'not much use [View all]

[Liberal_in_LA]

The Tibetan spiritual leader, a self-declared feminist, stunned a BBC interviewer by saying that were a woman to eventually take over his position, she would be unsuitable if she was ugly.
"That female must be attractive, otherwise it is not much use," he said.

The ageing Buddhist monk made his remarks during a nine-day visit to London, where he is promoting the concepts of compassionate and considerate behaviour. However, his views on the qualifications for whoever eventually takes over his role may damage his standing among female followers.

Interviewed by the veteran BBC TV journalist Clive Myrie, he was asked first whether it was possible that a woman could take over his role in the first place. He confirmed enthusiastically that it was, and then said that in a previous interview years ago, he had told a French woman reporter that a woman Dalai Lama would be a good thing "in our troubled word", as she would have "biologically more potential to show affection and compassion".

He then leaned forward to Myrie with a smile and added: "Then I told that reporter: 'If it is a female, the face should be very attractive'."

Myrie retorted: "You are joking, I am assuming. Or you're not joking?"

The Dalai Lama then made it clear he was not. "It's true," he replied.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/dalai-lama-any-woman-successor-must-be-pretty-31554001.html