Robert Thurman, an expert on and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, personal friend of the Dalai Lama, and father of Uma, weighs in on why China needs the Dalai Lama.

“We are at a moment of great significance for humanity, ” Thurman says here, “at the beginning of this new century, which could be either a horrendous time of natural and man-made mega-disasters or the greatest century yet of environmental restoration and peaceful global community. Of all world leaders at this time, the Dalai Lama most convincingly provides spiritual, intellectual, and ethical leadership, exemplifying and elucidating the most reasonable path to peace and happiness. This is the secret of his worldwide popularity. His person and teaching really do matter, to the Tibetans, to the Chinese, and to all of us and our future generations.”