They met in person only six times. Even so, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu treated each other like lifelong brothers.
According to ThePrint, they walked hand in hand and hugged wherever they went. In 2015, Tutu traveled to Dharamsala, India, to spend five days with the Tibetan leader for his 80th birthday. That conversation gave rise to “The Book of Joy”.
In an excerpt published by Lion’s Roar, the Dalai Lama confesses that he was very surprised when he learned that his friend might be coming. He knew that Tutu was in poor health, was already very old, and would find the journey difficult. When everything was finalized, he says, he felt happy and excited.
Tutu, always humorous, recounted that the Dalai Lama teased him whenever he could: at their first meeting, he may have been somewhat reserved, but by the second, he was already taking the hat off his head. And about their bond, he said: “I think it was a communication of the heart”.
Tutu died in 2021. Their friendship shows that you don’t have to see each other often to feel close.