Dalai Lama out of hospital, needs "good rest"

The Dalai Lama gestures as he leaves Lilavati hospital in Mumbai September 1, 2008. The 73-year old exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was being treated for abdominal pains. Doctors said there was no cause for concern and more tests were being done, a Dalai Lama aide said (Reuters/Punit Paranjpe, India).

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MUMBAI (AFP, 9-1-08) – The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was discharged from a Mumbai hospital on Monday, four days after being admitted with stomach pain, but said he still needs plenty of rest.

The 73-year-old Nobel peace laureate smiled and waved as he emerged from Mumbai's private Lilavati Hospital, an AFP photographer said. He shook hands with hospital staff before leaving in a bullet-proof car.

The Dalai Lama's spokesman, Tenzin Takhla, has said he has cancelled all engagements for three weeks and would now spend several days resting in Mumbai.

A hospital spokesman declined to comment on his state of health, but Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said the Dalai Lama was "very fine." "There is nothing to be worried about. The doctors have advised that he take some more rest," Rinpoche told AFP from the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where the government-in-exile is based.

The Dalai Lama underwent a series of tests in Mumbai after admission to the hospital on Thursday following complaints of "abdominal discomfort." In a message issued by his office, the revered Buddhist leader said he was suffering from "fatigue" and that there was "no cause for concern." "The doctors attributed this to fatigue...They have advised me to have a good rest," the Dalai Lama was quoted as saying. A Tibetan official at the Dalai Lama's home said last week he had suffered a bout of diarrhoea after which "he felt very weak."

In recent weeks, the Dalai Lama has pursued a hectic itinerary as he campaigned for improved human rights in Tibet while China hosted the Olympic Games. During the Games, he travelled to France for a 12-day visit during which he accused China of ongoing repression of the Tibetan people. He met French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy -- but not President Nicolas Sarkozy.

On Saturday, he joined Tibetans in a 12-hour fast to draw attention to the human rights situation in their homeland and pray for world peace. "The Dalai Lama had a lot of international teaching commitments this month," Rinpoche said. "We have said his appointments have been cancelled for three weeks... so by the middle of September it should be clear when he will resume his other commitments."

The Buddhist monk fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama champions a "middle path" policy which espouses "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, rather than full independence as many younger, more radical activists are demanding. Still, China has vilified him as the "mastermind" of what it called a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country. Violent protests against Beijing's rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown that drew global condemnation.