Kargil, Ladakh: His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived in Kargil to a warm welcome extended by Anayat Ali, Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council and other senior officials and religious leaders.
Addressing the public gathered at Hussaini Park, His Holiness extolled India for setting an example of inter-faith harmony. His Holiness began by saying that all seven billion human beings are brothers and sisters sharing the same physical, mental and emotional need to find happiness and avoid suffering.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives in Kargil, Jammu, and Kashmir. Photo: Tenzin Choejor / OHHDL
His Holiness advised that recognising the oneness of humanity on a fundamental level would help avoid discord likely to be stirred because of differences in nationality, race, and faith.
“If we are to achieve a peaceful world, we need to consider the oneness of humanity. We may follow different religious traditions but every religion conveys the same message, that of love, tolerance, forgiveness, and self-discipline,” said His Holiness.
Pointing to human potential to create peaceful individuals and happy communities irrespective of different approaches, His Holiness said that differing philosophical views are necessary for the light of people’s different culture, different disposition and a different outlook. These different approaches His Holiness emphasized is critical to achieving a common goal of creating more compassionate individuals.
Stressing on the need to achieve inter-religious harmony, His Holiness cited India as an example.
“Occasional problems may arise but in modern India, good relations prevail between our different religious traditions—and as far as I know there are no reports of quarrels between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam.” Said His Holiness.
The public gathered in droves to listen to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Photo: Jayang Tsering/DIIR
Expressing concerns over climate change and global warming that only seem to exacerbate in the recent years, His Holiness pointed to a large swathe of desert land that has fast replaced lakes in Central Asia.
His Holiness advised on the need to take timely measures to address the impending disaster and protect the planet earth.
Lauding India for making strident steps in improving the quality of education, His Holiness said that more efforts should be undertaken to ensure education is able to instill happiness and help an individual lead a fulfilled life.
“Material development by itself does not make us happy. We also need to understand the workings of our minds and emotions, which is something we can learn from ancient Indian sources,” said His Holiness.
His Holiness recalled a recent meeting at Jammu with Indian Vice Chancellors dwelling on the prospects for India to combine modern education with the ancient Indian understanding on tackling negative emotions and on achieving peace of mind. This, His Holiness remarked is a major contribution India can make toward world peace by showing how to achieve peace of mind.
“I want to urge you young students and your teachers to pay more attention on how to tackle negative emotions in the context of ahimsa or non-violence,” His Holiness said pointing to the young students at a gathering of more than 8000 people.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama leaving after the public address.Photo/ Jayang Tsering/DIIR