His Holiness the Dalai Lama has thanked his devotees and friends for the extensive greetings and well wishes on his 80th birthday, saying “I make an appeal that we all work enthusiastically to promote ethical values imbued with love and compassion and that we do our best to reduce, if not eliminate, the conflicts and violence that currently beset many parts of the world… we must strive to foster inter-religious harmony for the good of all humanity. In addition, to protect our natural environment we have to work together.”