During an interview with the BBC, the Dalai Lama said he would support the idea of a female successor, on one condition: Her “face should be very attractive, otherwise not much use.” The 80-year-old was repeating the answer he had given a journalist from a woman’s magazine more than 15 years ago, but when BBC reporter Clive Myrie followed up by asking, “You’re joking, I’m assuming,” the Dalai Lama said, “No, it’s true.” The spiritual leader also said that “the female biologically [has] more potential to show affection and compassion.”
