Dalai Lama : Tibetans support 'Middle Way'

The Dalai Lama voiced confidence Monday that Tibetans supported his "Middle Way" of seeking greater rights but staying under China's rule, despite criticism from some young exiles. The Dalai Lama, who announced earlier this year that he was retiring from political duties, said it was up to the newly empowered Tibetan government-in-exile in India to assess his "Middle Way." "The younger generation criticizes our way of approach. That is understandable," the 76-year-old monk told Radio Free Asia on a visit to the broadcaster's Washington headquarters. But he said that based on feedback from people inside Tibet, "all of them fully support our approach of not seeking separation." "Because we strictly follow (the) non-violence principle," he said, "large numbers of Chinese Han brothers and sisters, intellectuals and some students fully support, fully appreciate and show solidarity with us." The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet for India in 1959 during an abortive uprising, has repeatedly said he opposes violence and wants to work with China to allow greater freedoms to the predominantly Buddhist people. While the Dalai Lama is nearly universally revered by Tibetan exiles, some activists among a younger generation raised in India or elsewhere have called for a more forceful response to China. China accuses the Dalai Lama of being a "splittist" and protests the Nobel Peace Prize winner's travels overseas. It has warned US officials against meeting him, voicing concerns to top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen as he visited Beijing. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland repeated Monday that "no decision has been made" on whether Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet the Dalai Lama. However, the Dalai Lama met last week with senior lawmakers led by House Speaker John Boehner along with a senior State Department official, Maria Otero, who coordinates policy on Tibet. The Dalai Lama is halfway through a nearly two-week visit to Washington to lead a Buddhist ritual known as a Kalachakra. Thousands of devotees are taking part in the rite, last performed more than five years ago in India. As the ritual entered its second week, the Dalai Lama presided over prayers on Monday as devotees displayed a sand mandala -- an intricately designed and colorful piece of sacred art that serves as a meditation aid. By the end of the Kalachakra, the Buddhist practitioners will ritually destroy the sand mandala in a metaphor for the transience of life.