The Dalai Lama said he felt “normal, almost normal” as he left the New Delhi hospital where he had been treated for a chest infection.
The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader was pale but spoke cheerfully Friday morning as he spoke to The Associated Press after being discharged. He had been hospitalized on Tuesday after coming to the capital to consult with doctors.
He is likely to return this week to the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala
that has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama usually spends several months a year travelling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans’ struggle for greater freedom in China. But he has cut down on travel in the past year as he has to take care of his health.
China doesn’t recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile and hasn’t held any dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama since 2010. Beijing accuses him of seeking to separate Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he merely advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture.