The Dalai Lama’s message to the world
Nearly six decades have passed since I left my homeland, Tibet, and became a refugee. Thanks to the kindness of the government and people of India, we Tibetans found a second home where we could live in dignity and freedom, able to keep our language, culture and Buddhist traditions alive.
My generation has witnessed so much violence; some historians estimate that more than 200 million people were killed in conflict during the 20th century.
Today, there is no end in sight to the horrific violence in the Middle East, which in the case of Syria has led to the largest refugee crisis in a generation. Horrible terrorist attacks – which we were sadly reminded of this weekend – have created deep-seated fear. While it would be easy to feel a sense of hopelessness and despair, in the early years of the 21st century it is all the more necessary to be realistic and optimistic.
There are many reasons to be hopeful. The recognition of universal human rights, including the right to self-determination, has expanded beyond what could have been imagined a century ago. There is a growing international consensus in support of gender equality and respect for women. There is widespread rejection of war as a means of solving problems, especially among the younger generation. Around the world, many are doing valuable work to prevent terrorism, recognizing the depth of misunderstanding and the divisive idea of ’us’ and ‘them’ that is so dangerous. Significant reductions in the world’s arsenal of nuclear weapons mean that setting a timetable for further reductions and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons – a sentiment President Obama recently reiterated in Hiroshima, Japan – no longer seems like just a pipe dream.
There are many reasons to be hopeful.
It is not enough to just pray. There are solutions to many of the problems we face; New mechanisms for dialogue need to be created along with education systems to inculcate moral values. These should be based on the perspective that we all belong to one human family and that together we can take action to tackle global challenges.
Encouragingly, we have seen many ordinary people around the world show great compassion for the plight of refugees, from those who rescued them from the sea to those who took them in and offered friendship and support. As a refugee, I feel strong empathy for their situation, and when we see their fear, we must do everything we can to help them. I can also understand the fears of people in the host countries who may feel overwhelmed. The combination of circumstances draws attention to the crucial importance of collective action to restore real peace in the countries to which these refugees are fleeing.
Tibetan refugees have experienced first-hand living under such conditions and while we have not yet been able to return to our homeland, we are grateful for the humanitarian support we have received over the decades from friends, including the population of the United States.
We all belong to one human family.
A further source of hope is the sincere cooperation among the world’s nations toward a common goal evident in the Paris Agreement on climate change. When global warming threatens the health of this planet that is our only home, local and national interests can only be advanced by taking into account the greater global interest.
I have a personal connection to this issue because Tibet is the world’s highest plateau and an epicenter of global climate change, warming almost three times as fast as the rest of the world. It is the largest water store outside the two poles and the source of the most extensive river system on Earth, crucial to the world’s ten most populous countries.
To find solutions to the environmental crisis and violent conflicts we face in the 21st century, we must seek new answers. Even though I am a Buddhist monk, I believe these solutions go beyond religion in furthering a concept I call secular ethics. This is an approach to educating ourselves based on scientific findings, common experience and common sense – a more universal approach to promoting our shared human values.
Over more than thirty years, my conversations with scientists, educators, and social workers from around the world have revealed common concerns. As a result, we have developed a system that includes education of the heart, which is based on research into the workings of the mind and emotions through science and scientific research, rather than on religious practice. Because we need moral principles – compassion, respect for others, kindness, taking responsibility – in every area of human activity, we work to help schools and colleges create opportunities for young people to develop greater self-awareness , to learn to deal with destructive practices. emotions and cultivate social skills. Such training is being incorporated into the curriculum of many schools in North America and Europe. I am involved in work at Emory University on a new curriculum on secular ethics that is being introduced at several schools in India and the United States.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the 21st century does not repeat the pain and bloodshed of the past. Because human nature is essentially compassionate, I believe it is possible that decades from now we will see an era of peace – but we must work together as global citizens of a shared planet.