DHARAMSHALA, September 11: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama today joined people all over the world in remembering the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In a message, the Dalai Lama remembered the innocent lives lost on this day a decade ago and said that the world needed to ponder on the “continuing impact of that tragic day.”
“September 11th reminds us of the horror we human beings can unleash on ourselves when we allow our human intelligence and powerful technology to be overtaken by hatred,” the Dalai Lama said.
“We need to learn from our painful memories of September 11th and become more aware of the destructive consequences that arise when we give in to feelings of hatred,” His Holiness added.
The Nobel laureate who is currently visiting South America noted that the “tragedy” reinforced his belief in the urgency and importance of “fostering a spirit of peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the world’s peoples and faith traditions.”
“We must therefore make every effort to ensure that our various faith traditions contribute to build a more caring, peaceful world,” the message read.
In New York, a memorial service was held today at the National September 11 Memorial, site of the destroyed World Trade Center twin towers in New York.
Moments of silence were observed to mourn those who perished as each of the planes crashed and as the two towers went down.
President Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush addressed the memorial service and read aloud the names of the 2,753 people who lost their lives to the attack.
Thousands of grieving mothers, fathers, husbands and children filled the memorial site to attend the day-long service and were the first to tour the 6.5-hectare site on the original World Trade Center location.
While New York formed the main focus of the memorial day, respects were also paid throughout America and the world.
