“Religious tolerance and harmony is possible to achieve. And India is an example of this. India is the only nation where people from all religions have co-existed harmoniously since centuries,” said the Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader at a talk organised on Courage and Compassion in the 21st century, organised by the Vana Foundation.
“Religion was meant to bring inner peace, promote love, forgiveness and tolerance, but it has become a factor dividing people and in some cases even led to killings,” he said, giving the example of the strife in countries like Afghanistan and Syria. India is a role model for these countries to show how people from different faiths can live together in peace, he said.
The 14th Dalai Lama, who is in the city as part of the ‘Thank you Karnataka’ initiative, once again called for the revival of the ancient Indian knowledge for peace. He also spoke about his commitment to revive the Nalanda tradition and his effort to preserve Tibetan culture and language.
“The Nalanda tradition’s philosophy, propagated by masters Santaraksita and Kamalashila during the 8th century in Tibet, is based on investigation and experimentation. The emphasis is on logical reasoning. It is described as a scientific religion by many scholars. The preservation of this tradition, which focuses on logic and science and not faith, is important not only for the people of Tibet, but for the world as a whole,” he said.
