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Thursday, April 09, 2015

 

Violence it is not an answer to violence, says Dalai Lama

 

The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that violence will only lead to more violence that dialogue is the only solution to a lasting peace. The Tibetan leader was responding on Wednesday to a question by a journalist of a Japanese daily in Gifu.

 

On Tibetan negotiations with China, His Holiness said His Holiness said that hardliners among the communist authorities persist in asserting that Tibetans are ‘splittists’ intent on separating Tibet from China, when the world knows that they are not seeking independence.

 

He said that the Chinese President Xi Jinping seems to be a realistic man and sincere in his efforts to tackle corruption.

 

Asked about his views on terrorism in today’s world, the 1989 Nobel peace laureate, currently in Japan, said that it is very sad that terrorism has become linked to religious faith.

 

“We need to redouble our efforts to reach out to the people involved. All religions have provided solace for millions of people in the past and they will continue to do so. We have to accept that in the wider world there are several religions and several truths,” said His Holiness, currently in Japan to participate in a series of events including lectures, religious teachings and meeting school children and Buddhist monks.

 

The Tibetan leader recalled writing a letter to President Bush to express his condolences over the 9/11 attacks but said he expressed hope that Bush would deal with the consequences of this in a non-violent way. “My concern was that in a situation in which there was already one Bin Laden, to use force risked creating 10 Bin Ladens or 100 Bin Ladens. The trouble is that the use of violence provokes a violent response. We have to remember that terrorists are human beings too and find a way to talk to them.”

 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama also recalled his Muslim friends saying that that the word Jihad is often misunderstood. “It is not about harming other people, the struggle it refers to is a struggle with our disturbing emotions. And from that point of view, all religious traditions engage in Jihad.”

 

After lunch, His Holiness walked from his hotel to the Nagarakawa Convention Centre Hall where he had been invited to speak as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the All Japan Soto Young Priest Association (AJSYPA). Events began with a striking video focusing on the friendship between His Holiness and the Soto Zen tradition. Very young children performed a charming song and dance and Soto priests paid formal respects to the Buddha before His Holiness joined them on the stage.

 

His Holinesss said that even after 2600 years since the time of the Buddha his teaching continues to flourish in countries like Japan. He said there is growing interest in non-Buddhist countries in what Buddhism has to teach about the mind, adding that since Buddhism and other religious “traditions contribute to human welfare we should have respect for all of them.”