The Dalai Lama’s Call for a More Compassionate World
Being in the presence of his Holiness, the Dalai Lama is a once in a lifetime experience. A deep sense of joy and peace overcomes even the most restless of souls. In a two-day symposium hosted by the Aspen Institute in collaboration with The Conservancy for Tibetan Art and Culture in Aspen, CO on July 25 - 26th, the Dalai Lama addressed some of the most important issues in our lives.
While he is the most recognized spiritual leader of our times he calls himself “just a Buddhist Monk.”
In our Western culture - and with the electronic revolution bringing us further and further away from traditional values - such humbleness is almost inconceivable. Did we go too far in our quest for “comfort” at the price of human values? Did the almighty high-tech backfire in ways we do not want to admit, much less can understand?
The answer lies within us, but that is a tough one to crack. Avoidance is a much more comfortable venue to take, at least in the short term.
But, the Dalai Lama is not about finding shortcuts, or quick fixes. Although he laughs with the innocence of a child and tells jokes with a refreshing sense of humor, his life-long commitment to the advocacy of human values and the betterment of conditions is a gift to mankind. He puts the light on our true nature, and mastering our relationships both with others and ourselves, which is our only ticket into the new millennium.
His Holiness describes the paradox of our age rather factually, reminding us that what we already sense deep inside may just be the truth:
“We have bigger houses, but smaller families;
More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgment;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicines, but less healthiness;
We’ve been all the way to the Moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication;
We have become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods, but slow digestion;
Tall man, but short character;
Steep profits, but shallow relationships.
It’s a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.”
Looking at the teachings of the Dalai Lama as a mere religion is a mistake. There are many religions and beliefs, all of which have their own institution and set of principles. But, there is only ONE World. And, although human nature is complicated, it boils down to a few basic patterns apparent in all of us regardless of religion. These basics will then serve as a soil from which branches into a million different directions, depending on circumstances, convictions, ideas, love, hate, ego, revenge and a myriad of other human emotions, all of which will then create its own outcome through the basic principle of cause and effect.
Luckily, in our numbers-driven age hard-core scientific evidence is coming to the rescue helping us better understand the Dalai Lama’s teachings. We are now finding that our emotions, - although often left out of the equation, - influence our physical existence and health as biofeedback between the two states are acting simultaneously. Once we’re informed, we can understand that we really have the power, proven in both science and spirituality, to overcome our limitations and change our way of thinking thus improve our general well being through a better understanding of cause and effect.
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