Buddhism teaches respect and tolerance for other religions and speaking ill of anyone for their philosophy or religion is a transgression of the Dharma.  Not only does the Dalai Lama respect other faiths, he doesn’t seek converts.  His Holiness states, “People from different traditions should keep their own, rather than change.”

To a man who asked to become a Buddhist, the Dalai Lama replied, “Please don’t. Stay in your own religion, and meditate.”  Further , he has stated, “It is better to stick with the wisdom traditions of one’s own land than to run from them pursuing in exotica what was under your nose all the time.”

After all, love and compassion are the basic elements of every religion. Yet, His Holiness writes in The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace, “For certain people, Buddhism may simply not be an answer.  Different religions meet different people’s needs.  I do not try to convert people to Buddhism.  What I try to explore is how we Buddhists can make a contribution to human society in accordance with our ideas and values.”

His Holiness divides Buddhism into three categories: Buddhist science, Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist religion. Buddhist religion, he says, is the business of Buddhists, but Buddhist philosophy and science have universal application and need to be made available to the world.

“In conclusion, those who like myself, consider themselves to be followers of Buddha, should practice as much as we can. To followers of other religious traditions, I would like to say, “Please practice your own religion seriously and sincerely.” And to non-believers, I request you to try to be warm-hearted. I ask this of you because these mental attitudes actually bring us happiness. As I have mentioned before, taking care of others actually benefits you.” writes the Dalai Lama in Generating the Mind for Enlightenment.