Although he appeared not to approve of the war in Iraq, he was admiring of Bush.
"He is very straightforward," said the monk.
"On our first visit, I was faced with a large plate of biscuits. President Bush immediately offered me his favourites, and after that, we got on fine. On my next visit, he didn't mind when I was blunt about the war.
"By my third visit, I was ushering him into the Oval Office. I was astonished by his grasp of Buddhism."
also celebribuddishts aren't on his speed dial he claims either.
He is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the West and has been accused of being obsessed with the trappings of fame there.
"I never asked people like (US actor) Richard Gere to come, but it is foolish to stop them," he told the Telegraph.
"My attitude is to give everyone some of my time. If I can contribute in any way to their happiness, that makes me happy."
and he ends it up with a Spiritual Message that I can agree with (and that all except for Alpha level dirty hippies fall prey to)
"It is fascinating. In the West, you have bigger homes, yet smaller families; you have endless conveniences -- yet you never seem to have any time. You can travel anywhere in the world, yet you don't bother to cross the road to meet your neighbours," he said.
"I don't think people have become more selfish, but their lives have become easier and that has spoilt them. They have less resilience, they expect more, they constantly compare themselves to others and they have too much choice -- which brings no real freedom."
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