By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, June 7: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama today commenced a three-day teaching of Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara at the request of Nalanda Shiksha at the Thekchen Chöling Tsuglakhang, the main temple here.
Attended by around 8000 people from 78 different countries including 1,200 from Nalanda Shiksha, an Indian Buddhist group, His Holiness said that he felt special while addressing them since they belong to the country where Buddhism was born, and later spread allover Tibet through Nalanda masters during 8th century.
“The main message of every religion is love and compassion, irrespective of belief in creator or not or difference in faith. It is practical to have differences in our faith, however, the most important thing is to implement warm -heartedness, compassion and love,” the Dalai Lama said.
He added that India is the only country where all the major religions of the world exist cohesively. He, however, stated that the harmony should not be affected by a few mischievous individuals creating conflict in the name of faith.
The Tibetan leader, while fielding questions during the break, was asked how he contemplated on death. “In the teachings of Buddha, he has mentioned ‘impermanence’. It is quite clear that death is part of our life. So in our daily practice, it is very important to reflect on death,” said the Tibetan leader.
He further explained that the concept of life after death (rebirth) is very helpful. “It is useless to worry too much about death. It will anyway come. More importantly, while we are alive, our lives should be meaningful and by meaningful I mean living a life honestly, truthfully and compassionately,” the Dalai Lama said.
The Tibetan spiritual leader will conclude the teachings on Wednesday and thereafter head for the United States, where he will give teachings and take part in events in different cities throughout the month of June.
Among other engagements, His Holiness is scheduled to attend a panel discussion organized by NED featuring a panel of young activists who believe in the principles of democracy and human rights and work in extremely difficult environments to advance those rights and principles.
