The Week India – July 14, 2019

32 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019

COVER STORY

THE DALAI LAMA

and roti. Th erefore, I feel a real bond

with this great country and a constant

concern for its welfare. I am fulfi lling

three commitments—promoting

human values, promoting religious

harmony and reviving ancient Indian

knowledge. I want to help people

develop inner peace, and strengthen

the concepts of ahimsa (nonviolence)

and karuna (compassion). So many

Indians are showing genuine interest.

I feel India is the only nation that

can combine modern education and

ancient learning. Th e modern edu-

cation developed by the British does

not know how to deal with emotions.

But people like Mahatma Gandhi

and Dr Radhakrishnan knew how to

deal with human emotions. Nehru

may have been more westernised

(laughs).

Do you think Modi is more Indian

than western?

Perhaps yes. But I need to research

closely to comment. I do not know.

What are your commitments today?

My fi rst commitment is to try and

promote basic human values. Some

scientists say the basic human na-

ture is more compassionate. Some

scientists say that constant anger and

fear are eating our immune system.

When we are angry, our peace of

mind is lost. Our face does not look

beautiful (laughs). Th at is part of hu-

man nature. When we are children,

we appreciate warmheartedness.

Children do not care about nation-

ality, caste or religion, and consider

human love, aff ection and friendship

as the key factors. I always tell people

that [along with] physical hygiene,

it is equally important to inculcate

hygiene of emotions in children. Th is

should be done not as a religious

matter, but as an academic subject.

Th at is one commitment. What

else?

My other commitments are promo-

tion of religious harmony and revival

of ancient Indian knowledge. I am

a Buddhist monk and I live in India

where diff erent spiritual traditions

have developed over 3,000 years.

Later, diff erent religious traditions

also came in from middle-east-

ern countries. In India, Muslims,

Christians, Hindus, Jains, all live

together. Take the example of Parsis

who follow Zoroastrianism. Th ey

are very peaceful people and, from

that community, people like Field

Marshal Sam Manekshaw and

the Tatas have made signifi cant

contributions to the country. On

the other hand, we have our next

door neighbour where Muslims are

killing each other in the name of

Shia and Sunni. In Egypt, there is

problem between Christians and

Muslims. Unfortunately, in Burma,

there is the Buddhist-Muslim

problem. When I hear these things,

I feel sad. All diff erent religious tra-

ditions, despite diff erent concepts

of philosophy, carry the message of

peace, forgiveness and love. Th at is

why I feel India’s religious harmony

stands out.

If all religions promote peace and

nonviolence, why are human beings

killing each other?

It is when religion becomes su-

perfi cial and only concerned with

ceremony that such things happen.

It is because of the kind of education

we impart that sometimes religion

becomes more like a fashion symbol

and the people lead a materialistic

life.

When did you fi rst learn ancient

Indian texts?

Historically, in the Tibetan minds, In-

dia is the land of the Noble ones. It is

a sacred and holy land. For a Tibetan,

a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya once in a

lifetime was considered important.

As a Tibetan, I studied and learnt

texts written by the Nalanda masters

at the age of six. On my own, I had lit-

tle interest in memorising them, but

it was compulsory and my teachers

were strict (laughs). Th e writings of

Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, Shantideva,

Shantarakshita and Dharmakirti were

considered very important. Some of

these texts on logic are available in