JOIN USHis Holiness the Dalai Lama gave an interview to Sanjoy Majumder of the BBC on April 8, 2016 at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. He kept to his consistent theme, peace.
“I am committed to democracy,” he said, “while many of our religious institutions, such as reincarnation, are remnants of feudalism. Today we need to act appropriately to the new reality in which we find ourselves.”
The reality is that we live in a violent world and it is up to us to bring about change through seeing that we are all one family.
He spoke with the students, teachers, and others present jovially,
“The past can’t be changed, but we do have the opportunity to shape the future and create a happier world. And who will do that? Those of you who are young today.
“In one or two decades from now, I’ll be gone. But even if I’ve ended up in hell, I’ll take a break to come back and see how you’re doing. If you’re working for peace and a more equitable world, when I get back there I’ll tell the wardens of hell that they can reduce its size. But if I find you are still engaged in violence and discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, faith or social status, I’ll report that hell should be expanded to accommodate everyone who’ll be destined to arrive there. Because of the changes you can make, you are the basis of our hope.”
His audience applauded throughout his talk, responding to his charisma.
“The second reason I’m glad to be here,” the Embodiment of Compassion added, “is that I’m an old person and when I meet other people my age I wonder ‘Which of us will go first?’ Whereas when I meet young people like you, it makes me feel young and refreshed.
“Violence breaks out because our negative emotions run out of control. We can counter these if we cultivate warm-heartedness and concern for others. Then there’ll be no place for bullying or exploiting others.”