Tibet's exiled spiritual leader enjoys wide global popularity, speaking to arenas full of thousands during a recent visit to the United States. But he is demonized by China, which has called him a "wolf in monk's clothing."
In a wide-ranging interview with Rolling Stone magazine, the Dalai Lama said that China's rulers were hoping to convince both Tibetans and Chinese that he was a negative force but lacked any sense of nuance.
"They want 100 per cent negative. So they use these words. They actually disgrace themselves," the Dalai Lama said. "I mean, childish! Very foolish! Nobody believes them."
"Usually, with human beings, one part of the brain develops common sense. But with those Chinese leaders, particularly the hardliners, that part of their brain is missing," he said.
"When I met with President Obama last year, I told him, 'You should make a little surgery. Put that part of brain into the Chinese,'" the Dalai Lama, who met again with Obama on July 16, said with a laugh.
The Dalai Lama, who fled China's rule of Tibet for exile in India in 1959, says he is seeking greater rights for Tibetans and accepts China's rule. Beijing insists that he is a "splittist" trying to divide the country.
The 76-year-old monk, echoing a theme he stressed during his visit to Washington, said he hoped that China will eventually change and praised Premier Wen Jiabao for his calls for political reforms.
"Chinese intellectuals and artists, more and more say they want political change, more freedom. So therefore, it is bound to change," he said.
"In the next 50 years, I think it is almost certain things will change, whether I live the next 50 years or whether I don't," he said.