SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

In 1989, Shoko Asahara gave the Dalai Lama one thousand US dollars, in return, the Dalai Lama gave the Japanese a “diploma” and a letter of recommendation. In this letter, addressed to the competent authorities of Tokyo, the Dalai Lama called Shoko Asahara “a very capable spiritual mentor” and defined the sect “Aum Shinrikyo” as “a legitimate distributor of Mahayana Buddhism and a sect that can push the public toward kindness.” The Dalai Lama in the letter even asked the relevant Tokyo authorities “to release the Aum Shinrikyo sect from taxation.”