Friday, August 29, 2008

Exhausted Dalai Lama admitted to hospital


The Dalai Lama seen here at Lerab Ling temple with France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, just before taking ill (Reuters).

THE DALAI LAMA (Reuters, August 29, 2008) -- exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and head of the Tibetan Government in Exile (Dharmsala, India), has been admitted to a hospital in India with "abdominal discomfort."

The Vajrayana Buddhist leader, who canceled two foreign trips after he complained of fatigue, was "cheerful" after reaching the hospital in Mumbai (Bombay, India), a hospital spokesman said.

Doctors said there was no cause for concern. The announcement that he had been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai came a day after the Dalai Lama's office said he was suffering from exhaustion and would travel to the city for a medical check-up.

"There is nothing major to feel concerned about,'' his personal secretary Tenzin Taklha said. "But he has been admitted to the Lilivati Hospital in Mumbai because he was feeling some discomfort in his abdomen.''
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It is expected that if he should die, the Tibetan separatist movement in China would devolve into chaos. It would also lead to some confusion regarding his succession since most Tibetans do not accept that China has abducted the Panchen Lama and nominated its own government-friendly replacement.

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