hillong: Addressing an inter-faith audience at the Soso Tham auditorium on Wednesday, the Dalai Lama lamented that killings continue to happen in the name of different faiths. He said that while all religious traditions talk of love and have wonderful people in their fold some clever people use religion to manipulate others.
Lauding the Christians missionaries for their excellent outreach efforts in health and education by sacrificing their comfortable lives to save others in far flung villages and even in Tibetan settlements, the Dalai Lama said, “We Tibetans are lagging behind in this.”
He mentioned Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King as people he greatly admired and said that it requires a lot of inner strength to do what they did and that inner strength comes from faith.
Speaking of the secularism practised by India, the Dalai Lama said that in India all religions are given equal worth. He said secularism is often misinterpreted by the western world to mean a complete distancing from religion or to be atheistic or anti-God.
Speaking about conflicts arising out of religious differences he said that conflict in the name of religion has no basis. Pitching for religious harmony the Dalai Lama said there may be differences in philosophical views amongst different religions but the goals to promote love, compassion, forgiveness are the same. “I am fully committed to promoting communal harmony and not just idealistic views,” the Dalai Lama said.
Pointing to India as a country that promotes a pluralist culture the Tibetan monk said, “India is a model for mutual respect and mutual learning,” adding that Indian should be proud about making singular contribution to the outside world.
Referring to the monastic curriculum the Dalai Lama said it takes roughly 30 years of constant learning of the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism to make one a true Lama. “Anything short of that is just Lamaism where we derive lengthy names but our knowledge is short. Faith consists also of real knowledge but most Tibetans themselves don’t know the real knowledge,” he observed
The revered monk said Buddhist faith is a combination of scientific knowledge about the mind, and emotion and of human psychology. He said without knowledge of science, faith has limited value. Buddhist have created a Mind and Life Institution in America, Europe, Japan and a similar idea is being promoted at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
“Indian should pay attention to ancient philosophy about emotions and consciousness and ancient Indian psychology,” the Dalai Lama concluded.
Earlier people of different religious groups paid their respects to the Dalai Lama and also stated the intent of their respective faiths.
A cultural function featuring the combined cultural troupe of the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos performed for the Dalai Lama. Na Rympei a Khasi and rock fusion band held the Dalai Lama captivated. The Serenity Choir chanted a Tibetan prayer.
The Dalai Lama had a packed schedule on Wednesday but showed absolutely no sign of fatigue. After his luncheon date with the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues, the revered Tibetan monk met with media persons after which he rushed to the Soso Than auditorium for the Inter-faith meet and cultural exposure.