April 18th 2016

Dharamsala, India, 18 April 2016 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama has written to President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa and Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe to express his sadness at the injuries, loss of life and destruction of property in their respective countries as a result of recent devastating earthquakes.

To President Correa he wrote: “I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives as a result of this natural disaster, and would like to express my sympathy and condolences to their families and others who have been affected.”

In his letter to Prime Minister Abe he wrote: “As a Buddhist monk who recites the ‘Heart Sutra’ daily, I feel it would be important if Japanese Buddhists were to recite the ‘Heart Sutra’ now and in the future.  Such recitation may not only benefit those who have lost their precious lives, but may also help prevent further disasters in the future. Here in Dharamsala we are reciting the ‘Heart Sutra’ one hundred thousand times with this in mind.”

His Holiness concluded both letters with assurances of his sympathy and solidarity with the people of Ecuador and Japan, declaring that he hadasked The Dalai Lama Trust, in the case of Ecuador, and his Representative in Tokyo, in the case of Japan, to make a token donation towards the relief and rescue work.