My
Vision of a Compassionate Future
By
The Dalai Lama
Washington
Post
Sunday,
October 21, 2007; Page B01
Brute
force can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom. The thousands
of people who marched in the cities of Eastern Europe in recent decades,
the unwavering determination of the people in my homeland of Tibet and
the recent demonstrations in Burma are powerful reminders of this truth.
Freedom is the very source of creativity and human development. It is not
enough, as communist systems assumed, to provide people with food, shelter
and clothing. If we have these things but lack the precious air of liberty
to sustain our deeper nature, we remain only half human.
In
the past, oppressed peoples often resorted to violence in their struggle
to be free. But visionaries such as Mahatma Gandhi and the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. have shown us that successful changes can be brought about
nonviolently. I believe that, at the basic human level, most of us wish
to be peaceful. Deep down, we desire constructive, fruitful growth and
dislike destruction.
Many
people today agree that we need to reduce violence in our society. If we
are truly serious about this, we must deal with the roots of violence,
particularly those that exist within each of us. We need to embrace "inner
disarmament," reducing our own emotions of suspicion, hatred and hostility
toward our brothers and sisters.
Furthermore,
we must reexamine how we relate to the very question of the use of violence
in today's profoundly interconnected world. One may sometimes feel that
one can solve a problem quickly with force, but such success is often achieved
at the expense of the rights and welfare of others. One problem may have
been solved, but the seed of another is planted, thus opening a new chapter
in a cycle of violence and counter-violence.
From
the Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia to the popular pro-democracy
movement in the Philippines, the world has seen how a nonviolent approach
can lead to positive political changes. But the genuine practice of nonviolence
is still at an experimental stage. If this experiment succeeds, it can
open the way to a far more peaceful world. We need to embrace a more realistic
approach to dealing with human conflicts, an approach that is in tune with
a new reality of heavy interdependence in which the old concepts of "we"
and "they" are no longer relevant. The very idea of total victory for one's
own side and the total defeat of one's enemy is untenable. In violent conflicts,
the innocent are often the first casualties, as the war in Iraq and Sudan's
Darfur crisis painfully remind us. Today, the only viable solution to human
conflicts will come through dialogue and reconciliation based on the spirit
of compromise.
Many
of the problems we confront today are our own creation. I believe that
one of the root causes of these manmade problems is the inability of humans
to control their agitated minds and hearts -- an area in which the teachings
of the world's great religions have much to offer.
A scientist
from Chile once told me that it is inappropriate for a scientist to be
attached to his particular field of study, because that would undermine
his objectivity. I am a Buddhist practitioner, but if I mix up my devotion
for Buddhism with an attachment to it, my mind will be biased toward it.
A biased mind never sees the complete picture, and any action that results
will not be in tune with reality. If religious practitioners can heed this
scientist's advice and refrain from being attached to their own faith traditions,
it could prevent the growth of fundamentalism. It also could enable such
followers to genuinely respect faith traditions other than their own. I
often say that while one can adhere to the principle of "one truth, one
religion" at the level of one's personal faith, we should embrace at the
same time the principle of "many truths, many religions" in the context
of wider society. I see no contradiction between these two.
I do
not mean to suggest that religion is indispensable to a sound ethical way
of life, or for that matter to genuine happiness. In the end, whether one
is a believer or a nonbeliever, what matters is that one be a good, kind
and warmhearted person. A deep sense of caring for others, based on a profound
sense of interconnection, is the essence of the teachings of all great
religions of the world. In my travels, I always consider my foremost mission
to be the promotion of basic human qualities of goodness -- the need for
and appreciation of the value of love, our natural capacity for compassion
and the need for genuine fellow feeling. No matter how new the face or
how different the dress and behavior, there is no significant division
between us and other people.
When
I first saw a photograph of Earth taken from outer space, it powerfully
brought home to me how small and fragile the planet is and how petty our
squabbles are. Amid our perceived differences, we tend to forget how the
world's different religions, ideologies and political systems were meant
to serve humans, not destroy them. When I traveled to the former Soviet
Union in the late 1970s, I encountered widespread paranoia, even among
ordinary people who feared that the West hated them so much that it was
ready to invade their country. Of course, I knew this was mere projection.
Today,
more than ever, we need to make this fundamental recognition of the basic
oneness of humanity the foundation of our perspective on the world and
its challenges. From the dangerous rate of global warming to the widening
gap between rich and poor, from the rise of global terrorism to regional
conflicts, we need a fundamental shift in our attitudes and our consciousness
-- a wider, more holistic outlook.
As
a society, we need to shift our basic attitude about how we educate our
younger generation. Something is fundamentally lacking in our modern education
when it comes to educating the human heart. As people begin to explore
this important question, it is my hope that we will be able to redress
the current imbalance between the development of our brains and the development
of our hearts.
To
promote greater compassion, we must pay special attention to the role of
women. Given that mothers carry the fetus for months within their own bodies,
from a biological point of view women in general may possess greater sensitivity
of heart and capacity for empathy. My first teacher of love and compassion
was my own mother, who provided me with maximum love. I do not mean to
reinforce in any way the traditional view that a woman's place is confined
to the home. I believe that the time has come for women to take more active
roles in all domains of human society, in an age in which education and
the capacities of the mind, not physical strength, define leadership. This
could help create a more equitable and compassionate society.
In
general, I feel optimistic about the future. As late as the 1950s and '60s,
people believed that war was an inevitable condition of mankind and that
conflicts must be solved through the use of force. Today, despite ongoing
conflicts and the threat of terrorism, most people are genuinely concerned
about world peace, far less interested in propounding ideology and far
more committed to coexistence.
The
rapid changes in our attitude toward the Earth are also a source of hope.
Until recently, we thoughtlessly consumed its resources as if there were
no end to them. Now not only individuals but also governments are seeking
a new ecological order. I often joke that the moon and stars look beautiful,
but if any of us tried to live on them, we would be miserable. This blue
planet of ours is the most delightful habitat we know. Its life is our
life, its future our future. Now Mother Nature is telling us to cooperate.
In the face of such global problems as the greenhouse effect and the deterioration
of the ozone layer, individual organizations and single nations are helpless.
Our mother is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility.
The
20th century became a century of bloodshed; despite its faltering start,
the 21st century could become one of dialogue, one in which compassion,
the seed of nonviolence, will be able to flourish. But good wishes are
not enough. We must seriously address the urgent question of the proliferation
of weapons and make worldwide efforts toward greater external disarmament.
Large
human movements spring from individual human initiatives. If you feel that
you cannot have much of an effect, the next person may also become discouraged,
and a great opportunity will have been lost. On the other hand, each of
us can inspire others simply by working to develop our own altruistic motivations
-- and engaging the world with a compassion-tempered heart and mind.
The
14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual leader of Tibet. Since
1959, he has been living in Dharamsala, in northern India, the seat of
the Tibetan government in exile.
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