His Holiness the Dalai Lama has participated in a number of public events in India this month, returning to his exile home in Dharamshala on March 21. He has cut down on international travel on the advice of his doctors.
His Holiness started the month with a special audience and speech to 600 foreign visitors from over 50 countries in the courtyard of Tsugla-khang, the main temple in Dharamshala, on March 5.
Mind and Life Conference
Photo: OHHDL
The following week, His Holiness participated in the five-day Mind and Life Conference which was held in Dharamshala from March 12 to 16. The conference, which was organised by the Mind and Life Institute, saw discussion on social and emotional education and early childhood development as well as how compassion, ethics, and attention training can be integrated into educational frameworks. A panel of experts, which included His Holiness, made presentations during the conference on their fields of expertise.
His Holiness at the Central University of Jammu’s first convocation
Photo: OHHDL
On March 18, Tibet’s spiritual leader was Chief Guest at the first convocation of the Central University of Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir State. He first met a group of people from Ladakh and Zanskar, urging them to strive to be a 21st Buddhist, explaining that this involves the study of Buddha’s teachings and not blindly reciting or following them.
In his speech to the University, His Holiness said, “Brothers and sisters, young students who have received your degrees. You are the future of the world and the future of India. I generally make a distinction between the generation of the 20th century to which I belong and your generation of the 21st century. The 20th century was spoiled by violence and war”.
His convocation speech further stressed the importance of making a contribution to developing the 21st century as the century of peace and dialogue, saying that this will require a change as modern education has largely focused on material values and not on human values.
His Holiness inaugurating the annual meet of Association of Indian Universities
Photo: OHHDL
The following day, His Holiness gave the inaugural address to the annual meet of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, Varanasi on March 19 and attended by the representatives of 150 universities. His Holiness spoke on issues which included the global economy, how the world is increasingly becoming interdependent, the effects of climate change and water scarcity problems. His Holiness also reiterated that violence is outdated behavior and in this 21st century, with the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the potential to inflict damage is many, many times larger than that of bygone times when fighting was with swords and spears.
“We should reflect on the contradiction that if one man kills another he goes to jail, but when a man is responsible for the deaths of hundreds in war he is feted as a hero. Violence results from anger and fear. These are what we must reduce,” said His Holiness.
He also said that this century should be an era of dialogue and children should be educated in the workings of mind and emotions – to develop a sense of emotional hygiene. His Holiness spoke about relevance to this century of India’s age-old traditions of ahimsa and secularism.
Before joining the second day of the AIU meeting on March 20, His Holiness visited the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath where met and spoke to the Tibetan teachers.
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