By Bhuchung D Sonam
Town Hall, New York City: While the grey sky drizzled endlessly, the yellow cab wormed its way through infamous New York traffic. The first cab took us to a wrong street and the second cab dropped us three blocks off the destination. But the trouble was worth once we reached for the panel discussion.
The panelists were His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet and Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The 73-year-old Nobel laureate said that the changing realities demand changed ideals and “oneness of the humanity.”
“Today the reality of our world [is] very much heavily interdependent … the concept of we and they [is] no longer there. The entire world should be part of we. We need a sense of global responsibility,” said the 1989 winner of Nobel peace prize.
The Tibetan leader further said that the world is still carrying old and outdated concept that each one’s interests are independent of others, while the reality is quite different.
Take United States for example, the Dalai Lama explained, which is the biggest nation with the most powerful economy. But its future is dependent on the rest of the world. “That is the reality. So treat others as a part of yourself.”
Robinson mentioned that small organizations in the world are getting connected with one another to form a kind of “people power.” She said that a global campaign via internet to remove poverty has attracted over one hundred million people world wide. This is an indication that the desired change is possible, she said.
“I also believe in “not we and they” but of one that we have to work on. And for ‘we’ dignity is an important component,” said Robinson.
Pico Iyer, noted author and renowned travel writer of Indian origin, moderated the panel discussion that was organized by the Tibet Fund.
