His Holiness the Dalai Lama[/caption]
Speaking with warmth and candor at LSE on Wednesday, the Dalai Lama called for greater respect for the rights and well being of all people; emphasizing our common humanity and the moral obligations it creates to recognize the dignity of others despite differences of color, religion, nationality, and culture.
He said that despite relatively minor differences such as physical features, “Human beings are the same mentally, emotionally, and physically.”
He also stressed that mutual respect and acceptance of diversity enables true happiness and peaceful relations free from fear and anxiety. “The real purpose of our life is joyfulness,” he said.
Much of his address synthesized psychology with ethics, and the Dalai Lama focused on the importance of addressing egotistical and destructive emotions such as greed, materialism, anger, and hatred which he said are a function of a disturbed mind which can never really be objective and is characterized by negative feelings.
The Dalai Lama’s speech was practical in its concerns: minimizing suffering, promoting interethnic and interreligious harmony, and advancing a vision for emotional self-awareness and self-regulation that enables individuals and communities to be mindful of and carefully control those emotions with destructive tendencies such as chauvinism and racism. “The real destroyer of calm mind is fear, anger, hatred, and also attachment,” he said.
Although the Dalai Lama spoke positively of the importance of love in its manifestations as kindness and generosity and ethical reason he cautioned against those perverted forms of love which are narrow and egotistical and characterized by attachment which can harm the welfare and rights of others.
He emphasized that although the world has certain problems which humans can do nothing about such as natural disasters that occur irrespective of human behavior with regard to pollution, global warming, human conflicts, poverty, and other issues humans have the opportunity to advance justice, peace, and environmental protection and improve their behaviors. “A lot of problems essentially are our own creation… In many cases we human beings act like animals, only on a sensory level of experience,” he said, rather than reasoning, empathizing with others, and looking towards the future and respecting the needs of others beyond ourselves.
Rather radically he denounced the utility of prayer insisting that action is necessary to alleviate suffering and injustice and that knowledge and reason are essential to advance human well being. “Peace never comes through prayer… Peace only come through action.”
“If we act on the level of oneness and humility then there is no basis to harm each other, kill each other. The other is also a human being, have every right.” This is also related to the increasing interdependence of all peoples, because, he emphasized, what impacts Europe impacts the Middle East and the United States and Asia – we are all inextricably bound both in a common moral and emotional reality as human beings with similar needs and wants and fears and practically linked through the global economy and the exchange of technology, materials resources, and fuel.
We are “same human being, every one has equal right” the Dalai Lama insisted, calling for more ethical behavior, less corruption, abuse of power, and lying. He lamented the tensions and violence between Sunnis and Shias in the Middle East and related intra and inter religious violence in other parts of the world including violence against the Muslim minority in Burma.
The Dalai Lama spoke with passion and humor, often laughing at himself or the human condition and inspiring similar laughter amongst audience members with his playfulness, informality, and gentle and unassuming way of teaching.
He was met with resounding applause and a standing ovation.
The simplicity, profundity, and universality of his message and its transparent wisdom inspired and delighted the audience who were clearly moved and grateful for the opportunity to attend an address with his Holiness.
