Dalai Lama

[Guest guest]

I saw a program on Dalai Lama yesterday. Very nice and moving. He said

something like, "I am not a living Buddha. That is false if anyone says it.

I am a Buddhist monk, probably, that you can say." I got a funny feeling

that he was not even quite sure of the latter. In any case, he was quite a

contrast to the many enlightened teachers declaring themselves this and that

or giving themselves the largest titles.

 

Harsha

[Guest guest]

Sun, 02 Jan 2000 16:51:52 +0000

Maureen Heffernan <morlight

Blossoming <BLOSSOMING >, S-K < >

Dalai Lama

> What the Dalai Lama Said: The Millenium Message

>

>

> [Delivered by His Holiness The XXIV Dalai Lama via Internet via

> www.worldpuja.org, January 1, 2000]

> [Transcribed by Roger Ebsen, Closely Paraphrased, some words

> difficult to

> understand]

>

> People ask me what I feel about the new Millennium. ìPeople seem to

> be

> excited about the millennium. The new millennium in itself wiil be

> ënothing special.í As we enter the new millennium, things will be the

> same

> ~ that is, nothing unusual. Just wait, wait, waitÖand then youíll see

> nothing unusual and then weíll forget about it. [chuckles] My only

> worry

> is whether my flight to Delhi today will take off.

>

> The new millennium in itself is nothing specialÖOne thing is

> certainÖWe

> all can use time in our life constructively or destructivelyÖor we

> can

> waste our time, that is up to us. So people who consider the new

> millenniumÖit can be happy one or miserable, it is entirely up to us. So

> that is the point. If we are really looking forward to a new

> Millennium,

> or Century, a happy one, then we must make effort, we must work hard

> for

> it. That is my message for today. Awareness of the problem and learn

> how

> to lose it and keep hope and determination. Not just prayer, but

> through

> action Öto alleviate unhappy situationsÖ

>

> Now, however, if you really want the next millennium to be happier,

> more

> peaceful, and more harmonious for humankind, we will have to make

> the

> effort to make it so. This is in our hands, but especially in the hands

> of this younger generation. The younger generation. I think myself

> also,

> now, mainly, I think, I spent my Öthe most part of my life is spentÖor

> belongs toÖthe previous century. So the previous century is the

> century

> of my generation. So anyway, the other people, not even children,

> [are

> soon] to say bye-bye to the world [chuckle]. So, the younger

> generation,

> you are the people who really have to manage yourself politically, to

> shape the difficult century. So as a human beingÖwith marvelous

> human

> intelligence, the first is education, proper education; and then with

> determination, self- confidence, and a Ö[good] attitude..with these

> fundamental potentialities, then we can change the situation. So the

> younger generation really study well and meantime keep a warm

> heart..this

> is a most important thing I want to say to you. We have had many

> experiences during this century, constructive and extremely

> destructive

> ones, we must learn from these experiences.

>

> We need to approach this new millennium more holistically, with more

> openness and far-sightedness. If we are going to make this the right

> kind

> of effort to make the future of the world betterÖI believe the

> following

> methods are of great importance.

>

> One, while engaged in material progress and taking care of peopleís

> well-being, we need to pay equal attention developing peace of

> mindÖand

> that is taking care of the internal aspect of our being.

>

> Second, our formal education generally deals with only academic

> accomplishments, we need to develop more altruism and a sense of

> caring

> and responsibility for others in the minds of this younger generation

> sitting in various educational institutions. This can be done without

> necessarily involving religion. Therefore, all secular education, as

> it

> in fact consists of basic human qualities such as kindness,

> compassion,

> sincerity and honesty.

>

> The thirdÖthis part of the century, in some ways, has been a center of

> war

> and bloodshed. It has seen, year-by-year, increasing defense spending

> for

> most countries in the world. If we are to change this trend, we must

> seriously consider the concept of non-violence, which is the physical

> extension of compassion. In order to make non-violence a reality, we

> must

> prefer to work on internal disarmament, and then proceed to work on

> external disarmament. By internal disarmament, I mean, ridding

> ourselves

> of all this negative emotion, that results in violence. External

> disarmament will also have to be done gradually, step-by-step. We

> must

> first work on the total abolishment of nuclear weapons and

> gradually work

> up to total demilitarization throughout the world. And the problem

> with

> doing this [is that] we must also work towards stopping the arms

> trade,

> which is currently widely accepted because it is so lucrative. When

> we do

> all these things we can then hope to see in the next millennium a

> year-by-year decrease in the military expenditure of the various

> nations

> and a greater working towards demilitarization. Similar problems

> will, of

> course, always remain. I believe, one of the sources of trouble is

> human

> intelligence and because of human intelligence we always can find

> different ideas, different ideologies, and also, I think the unlimited

> desire for conflict or derision. Therefore, so long as human beings

> live,

> or living, on this small blue planet, some form of problem [is] always

> there. [belief there, prayers?Ö] or hope of a world without problems

> ~

> that, I think, is hypocrisy, that is not realistic. So, problems always

> have been there. So, we need Ösome method to deal with the problems

> [without whining?]... So that is very important. So, similar problems

> will always remain, but the way to resolve them to sit down at a

> discussion. So, I feel that the concept of war is very much based on a

> concept of real estate, my interest, their interest, is something

> totally

> separate, unrelated. Under best circumstances, the concept of war

> which

> means 100% victory [on] our side, 100% defeat of other, the so-called

> enemy. Now, today, reality is not that. My interests very much

> [resembles] others interests; Others interests [reflect] my interests.

> So

> thatís the reality. So, therefore, under best circumstances, or

> according

> to [better] reality, discussion with your neighbor, even who you call

> enemy, but in reality, discussing your enemy is actually discussing

> warfare. So in the best circumstances, conquer the war, conquer the

> one

> side, 100% victory, one side 100% defeat [idea]; it is outdated. So,

> [laughter] [i love this] Öthe next century should be a century of

> dialogue

> and discussion rather than one of war and bloodshed.

>

> Fourth, we need to address the issue of the gap between the rich and

> poor,

> both globally and nationally. This inequality, with some sections of

> the

> human community having abundance, and others on the same planet

> being

> hungry, or even dying of starvation, is not only morally wrong, but

> practically also, [because it is a solvable problem?]Ö. Here, I want to

> make a small position, if you will agree, the first week of this 21st

> century, those middle-class people, and certainly those rich people,

> rich

> families, I think one day, I think should remain [with just] one meal.

> Some kind, some form of fast. So this isÖ that could be [some kind o]f

> reminder that while they are enjoying living without any difficulties,

> that there are millions of people who are without just one meal, some

> even

> without that. ÖOn an individual basis, if they agreeÖoffer a

> reminder..fastingÖjust one meal.

>

> [The whole problem is to ensure freedom.]ÖAs long as there is no

> freedom

> in many parts of the world, there can be no real peaceÖand in a sense

> no

> real freedom for this effort to work. I think, for the sake of our

> future

> generations, we need to take care of our earth and of our

> environment.

> Environmental damage is often gradual and not easily apparent and

> often by

> the time we become aware of it, it is generally too late. Since most of

> the major rivers flowing into many parts of the Southeast Asia

> originate

> from the Tibetan plateau, it will not be out of place to mention here

> the

> crucial importance of taking care of the environment in that area.

>

> Lastly, one of the greatest challenges today is the population

> explosion.

> Unless we are able to tackle this issue, effectively, we will be

> confronted with problem of major resources being inadequate for

> all the

> human beings of this earth. We need to seriously look into these

> matters

> that concern us all if we are to look forward to the future with some

> hope.

>

> So, lastly, I just want to share one of my public pleas, that is, inside

> are many difficulties and inside some cases, I think horrible, or

> hopeless

> sort of appearances, we should not lose our determination, it is very,

> very important, so please [maintain] optimismÖso that, eventually, we

> can

> work on all these painful experiences or problemsÖ[Right from the

> beginning, it will remain with sort of hopelessness, or difficulty, and

> then, even small things, which we can easily defeat?] Öeven that

> reason we

> can never retreatÖso, therefore it is very important to keep

> self-confidence and determination. From that a perfect mind, [a most

> entrusted element?] in order to keep the community. So, therefore,

> believer or non-believer, please try keep a warm heart insideÖthen

> you,

> yourself will be a happier person, and through that means, your

> family

> will be happier, and through that means, a happier , more peaceful

> community can build. So according to my experience, or from my point

> of

> view, in order to create a happier humanity, happier world,

> andÖalsoÖ

> including Ölittle animals, or birds, beasts, other sentient beings, we

> human beings, with the help of human intelligence, with help of a

> wiser

> perspective ~ [must] keep a warm heart, a compassionate heart inside.

>

> Thank You