The Book of Joy

felt that the French were his enemy and every French felt the Germans
were his enemy. Now these archenemies have joined together and have
formed the Franco-German unified force. They have also been key
players in the formation of the European Union. It is not perfect, but it is
progress.
“So then eventually, the Berlin Wall disappeared, not by force, but by
popular movement, so you see change. Now, China is also changing.
Cuba is also changing. North Korea alone perhaps has not changed—yet.
So these things are positive signs. Human beings, through wider contact
and more education, are becoming more mature. It takes time, and we
must take the long view. When we look at our world with a longer time
frame, say, of a hundred years, we can then envision a world that is very
different. A better, kinder, a more equitable, more joyful world. But we
must start the process of that change now, not wait for some ideal time.
The ideal time is now.”
The Dalai Lama was arguing for this longer perspective, and I could
not help but think of Sir Martin Rees’s comment that we were only
halfway through our evolution as a species on this planet. When one
thinks of the long parade of the human journey, it is really quite
extraordinary to think what we can become in a century, in a millennium
or more.
“After meeting with so many people, thinkers, scientists, educators,
health-care professionals, social workers, and activists,” the Dalai Lama
continued, “it is clear that the only way to truly change our world is
through teaching compassion. Our society is lacking an adequate sense of
compassion, sense of kindness, and genuine regard for others’ well-being.
So now many, many people who seriously think about humanity all have
the same view.” He was pointing both his index fingers at his temple to
emphasize the logic of their conclusion. “We must promote basic human
values, the inner values that lie at the heart of who we are as humans.
“Religion is not sufficient. Religion has been very important in human
history, and perhaps for another thousand years it will continue to bring
benefit to humanity.” The Dalai Lama knew he was being controversial,
calling the long-term value of religion into question, and he had taken the