His Holiness the Dalai Lama welcomed by the patrons of Vidyaloke initiative at the Talkatora stadium
Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OOHHDL
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a series of teachings and public talks to Indian audiences in New Delhi, India from February 3 – 6, organised by Vidyaloke – an Indian Wisdom initiative focusing on reviving ancient Indian tradition.
On the first day, His Holiness was requested to give an inaugural teaching on Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend; he included a praise he himself had composed to the 17 Nalanda masters.
“Brothers and sisters, I consider this gathering not to be just about a teaching of the Buddhadharma, my hope is that it will lead to ensuring that the 21st century is a happier, more peaceful era than the last. That’s our main purpose,” said His Holiness, addressing the crowd of over four hundred Indian students and scholars.
Speaking about India and Tibet’s spiritual relations, His Holiness said “You are the masters of the ancient Indian knowledge, particularly the Nalanda tradition. As Tibetan Buddhists, we are the messengers. On the level of messenger, we are making every effort. Now the Indians as masters should take active role in promoting these human values; not through prayers, but rigorous study”.
Sharing his personal experience as a follower of the Nalanda teachings, he said “For sixty years of my life, through the most difficult period, I have shouldered that responsibility. With the knowledge of ancient India and Nalanda, my mind had remained calm. The teaching of the 17 great masters of Nalanda gives me immense strength.
His Holiness speaking on ‘Reviving Ancient Indian Wisdom in Contemporary India’
Photo: Tenzin Choejor/OOHHDL
“Otherwise, without this knowledge, I would not have been able to maintain peace of mind” added His Holiness.He also urged young Indians to study the wisdom and values of ancient India from a more secular point of view.
His Holiness gave a public talk on February 5, Reviving Indian Wisdom in Contemporary India at Talkatora Stadium which was packed with an audience of over three thousand.
“The concept of Ahimsa and religious harmony is still alive in this country. Now, you should focus on your very own ancient knowledge and make efforts towards reviving these wisdoms in a secular way. This ancient Indian knowledge could be universal values,” said His Holiness at the talk.
He praised Vidyaloke’s initiative in rekindling the intellectual wealth of ancient India and spoke about global responsibility and a sense of oneness that one should develop to create a happier and peaceful community.
The talk was followed by questions from the audience and a meeting with Vidyaloke participants on how to move forward. His Holiness asserted that he was focusing on helping more people find out how to be happy on daily basis. “Our target,” he said, “is humanity not believers.”
Students from 80 schools in Delhi gathered to listen to His Holiness
Photo: Tenzin Choejor/OOHHDL
On February 6, His Holiness gave a talk, Compassion and Ethics: Source of Happiness, at the convent of Jesus and Mary to 1,300 students from 80 schools, and 300 delegates including educators, principals, historians and scholars.
Speaking about treating all human beings as the same, His Holiness said that he has reasons for always greeting his audiences as “brothers and sisters”. “We are all human beings, part of the population of 7 billion [people] alive today. The way we are born and affectionately nurtured by our mothers is the same. This is how we survive. Later, we all die the same way. We are physically, mentally and emotionally the same. We share the same kind of feelings of pleasure and pain. And yet we neglect the oneness of human beings and forget that others are our brothers and sisters. Instead we emphasise the secondary differences between us of colour, race, faith and nationality. We view each other in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’, which inevitably provokes conflict,” he explained.
His Holiness urged the young students to cultivate warm-heartedness to create a happier and more peaceful world. He also stressed that education systems encourage only materialistic goals with little concern for universal human values. “Secular education should be included in modern education. The teachers must educate the values of warm heartedness, compassion, a sense of oneness of humanity in the current education system,” he added.
“Be a kind and compassionate person. This is the inner beauty that is a key factor to making a better world,” said His Holiness to a student on asking what message she could take home with her.
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