By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, August 25: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that due to lack of firm moral principles, today there is no genuine socialist society anywhere in the world. “When we have an altruistic motivation, all our actions become constructive. When we are self-centered our actions tend to be destructive. We need to be guided by a map of our emotions and understanding of how the system of emotions works,” said the Dalai Lama on Saturday in Hamburg, where he is on a six day visit.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a talk on secular ethics-Human life values at Hamburg Congress Centre, Hamburg, Germany to a sold out crowd of over 7000 people.
The Dalai Lama noted secular ethics as an approach to peace of mind, saying that an ethical approach to inner values does not depend on any religious tradition and is an appropriate approach for all the human beings.
Speaking about mental disturbances, the Dalai Lama said that the disturbed minds are related to self-centered attitude and that it can be only dealt with by the mind and not by drinks, drugs or surgery.
“The more self-centred we are, the more we neglect others and the greater the distance we feel from them. Developing an attitude more concerned with others reduces fear and fosters friendship,” said the Dalai Lama. “Removing the part of the brain that experiences emotion would not work because human beings need feelings. But we also need a calm mind.”
He further called on the people to engage in dialogue to resolve their conflicts instead of violence to create a peaceful and compassionate world. “We all talk about ‘peace, peace’, but peace doesn’t fall from the sky. We have to do something to create it. Human beings have to solve their problems themselves. And the right way to create peace is to engage in dialogue. The idea of one side suffering defeat while the other side triumphs is out of date. Instead we have to develop dialogue. We have to make an effort if we want a peaceful, more compassionate world.”
Reacting to a demonstration staged by some of the Dorje Shugden (dolgyal) practitioners on the streets calling for religious freedom, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “The point I want to make here is that I haven’t banned the practice they are talking about. My duty is to make the situation clear, no more than that. Whether other people pay attention is up to them. I wave to them when I see them, and sometimes they wave back.”
Tomorrow, His Holiness is scheduled to give an Avalokiteshvara Initiation (the Bodhisattva of Compassion- Jigten Wangchuk) at the same venue.
