Elie Wiesel Quotes

I would hesitate to give advice to the Dalai Lama and his people because they are suffering. The Dalai Lama suffered from exile and the people in Tibet suffer from oppression.

When I was two years old, I heard about his [Dalai Lama] flight from Tibet. Being very little, I said, "Oh, good Tibetans, bad Chinese." Those were the black-and-white ways that I thought.

China invaded Tibet. It invaded it. So all this nonsense about them being the same country is absurd. It's called Tibet. If it was part of China, it would be called China, wouldn't it?

I totally disagree with the view that the Tibet struggle will die, and there will be no hope for Tibet, after the Dalai Lama passes away.

I am confident I will set foot again in Tibet in my lifetime.

What the Dalai Lama had to resolve was whether to stay in Tibet or leave. He wanted to stay, but staying would have meant the total destruction of Tibet, because he would have died and that would have ripped the heart out of his people.

When one questions [Dalai Lama's] political actions, it is worth remembering that he's the single most experienced politician on the planet at this moment.

[Tibet] is a small country based on religious principle, religious traditions. It never wanted any conquest.

Tibet has a very proud people but it's culturally gone and overrun ever since the Chinese took over. It's like saving the rhino. When a species is endangered, it's gone.

If I had remained in Lhasa, even without the Chinese occupation, I would probably have carried the ceremonial role in some orthodox way.

The Beijing government avidly asserts its control over matters of reincarnation as a way of securing the loyalty and political complexion of influential Tibetan figures.

I became the Dalai Lama not on a volunteer basis.

My father documented on film for the last time what Tibet looked like before the world got there.

I loved 'Kundun.'

I don’t understand you. China is a large empire—the largest nation in the world—and Tibet is so small. Why should you care what is happening there? It’s irrational.

I've got a letter from the Dalai Lama at home.

Dalai Lama was leading his country during the rigors of World War II, he was in Beijing for a year in 1954; he was up against Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai from the time that he was fifteen. So he's no newcomer or naive when it comes to politics.

My responsibility is to save Tibet, to protect its ancient cultural heritage.

I also saw the Dalai Lama a few times.

If America would withdraw from South Korea, there could be a power struggle between such as China and Japan.

China believes that it has the rightful claim to a vast portion of the South China Sea, which is claimed by other countries.

People have crossed the Himalayas in flip-flops seeking a blessing from the Dalai Lama.

The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China. Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history. History is history.

In 1995, the Chinese government picked a 6-year-old child to succeed the Panchen Lama, the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.

I asked Dalai Lama the most important question that I think you could ask - if he had ever seen Caddyshack.