Not Even the Dalai Lama Can Resist the Charm of a Beautiful Woman

Once again the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has graced American soil and broadcast television with his message of happiness. In an interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, the Dalai Lama discussed a range of topics, from China’s new leadership and the future of Tibet to the relationship between emotion and health.

After confirming that Buddhist leader did not, in fact, indulge in alcohol or tobacco and that he remained celibate, O’Donnell asked him about his weakness for beautiful women. He simply emphasized that just “seeing” pretty ladies was enough, and then went on to talk about how enough married people end up unhappy anyway.

The Dalai Lama also expounded on the possibility of a female reincarnation—”If the circumstance is such [that] a female Dalai Lama can—can be more useful, then, why not?” But it’s the Dalai Lama, so he pretty much used the same exact tone when expressing that if the role of the Dalai Lama becomes unnecessary, the title could potentially just die with him.

O’Donnell also asked His Holiness what he did for fun because what could you possibly do when you don’t drink or smoke or sex? For those of you who were imagining the Dalai Lama cutting loose in a top hat and monocle, throwing sevens on the confetti-laden craps tables of the Bellagio with a pair of ladies on each arm for good luck, you may be disappointed to learn that he merely uses his “intelligence to think many things.” Talk about a buzzkill, that Dalai Lama.