Dharamsala: The participants of the first Five-Fifty Youth Forum were granted a special audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama this morning.
During a 15-min audience, His Holiness expressed his conviction in the potential of teachings of the rich culture and religion of Tibet. “I can say with full conviction that our tradition, which originated in India, particularly the Nalanda tradition is a valuable treasure for today’s world.
“My main advice or message is for all of you youths, irrespective of whether you are men or women, monk or nun, to take ownership of this rich tradition,” he said.
He further implored the youths to not only imbibe the Tibetan Buddhist knowledge but to follow the Nalanda masters in examining the teachings of Buddha in light of reason.
He argued that reason and logical approach of the Tibetan Buddhist literature is what enables Buddhists to interact so well with scientists. “This is based on my own experience of having a dialogue with scientist and western scholars for over 30 years”.
“Nowadays, the Nalanda tradition of approaching the Buddha’s teachings with logic and reason is only found amongst Tibetans. Tibetans do not need to learn Chinese, Hindi or English to discover this because it is available to them in the Kangyur and Tengyur that are already translated into Tibetan.
The Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, he said is “something precious which we can be proud of and should strive to preserve.”
“We have inherited this rich tradition due to the kindness of Shantarakshita and the visionary leadership of the religious kings such as Songtsen Gampo.”
Participants of the Five-Fifty Youth Forum during the audience held at His Holiness’ residence on 20 August 2018. Photo/OHHDL
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking to the participants and organisers of the Five-Fifty Youth Forum during the audience held at His Holiness’ residence on 20 August 2018. Photo/OHHDL