Dalai Lama’s remark that a female successor ‘should be more attractive’ irks manyhttps://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/if-his-successor-was-female-she-should-be-attractive-dalai-lamas-sexist-remark-irks-many-online-5804687/

Dalai Lama’s remark that a female successor ‘should be more attractive’ irks many

The Dalai Lama made a similar comment in 2015 and stood by it in a recent interview. However, many social media users were upset by the comment.

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His remark about a female successor being attractive created a stir online.

A statement by the spiritual leader Dalai Lama on a potential woman successor ended up stirring a debate and upsetting many. In the interview conducted by BBC News, the Dalai Lama talked at length about other issues as well like growing intolerance in the world and Donald Trump’s America First stance.

When asked about a woman successor, he replied, “If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive.”

However, the interviewer said that the Dalai Lama also pointed out that in Buddhist literature both inner and outer beauty matter. The spiritual leader also said that equality was important and was keen to stress that he supported women’s rights and equal pay in the workplace.

The Dalai Lama had made a similar comment in 2015, when he told the BBC that a future Dalai Lama certainly could be a woman but would have to be good looking or would be “not much use.” But the comment received a lot of flak on Twitter:

In the interview, the Dalai Lama also spoke up against US President Donald Trump and lamented his lack of moral principle. He also called on the US to take global responsibility.