The Dalai Lama on April 21 participated in a global Buddhist conference hosted by India and said that he had been able to look at the current situation in Tibet with a broader perspective due to courage developed through the cultivation of compassion.
The Tibetan spiritual leader attended the second day of the first global Buddhist conference here and addressed delegates from 30 countries which include monks, Buddhist scholars and practitioners and heads of Buddhist organisations from across the globe.
The Union Culture Ministry and the International Buddhist Confederation, which are the organisers of the conference, had on Monday said that there was no confirmation on the Dalai Lama’s participation due to health issues. He has been at the centre of a controversy recently over a video with a minor boy, an incident for which he subsequently apologised.
In his half an hour address at the summit, the Dalai Lama focused on the concepts of compassion, wisdom, and dependence origination as espoused by the Buddha.
“…I can also share with you that engaging in this kind of inner development and particularly focusing on wisdom and compassion. It really can help increase our courage as well. For example in the case of my dealing with the current struggle and situation of Tibet, if you think just only about it from a narrow-angle, you can lose your hope”, he said.
“But if you look at this crisis and look at this current situation from the broader perspective of the courage that cultivation of compassion gives you, then you can have a much more resilient mind. So, even in your daily life, there might be problems which may seem enormous and unbearable. Still, if you have the courage, you will be in a much stronger position to turn adversities into opportunities”.
He further said that if each one of us takes the Buddha’s teachings seriously, “we will be able to see real difference in our daily lives”.
The two-day summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 20.
A declaration was adopted at the end of the summit on April 21 which sought focus on the need to address the burning challenges both within and globally and offer a sustainable model for future of the world. It also focused on need for environmental sustainability, need to free human race from conflict, peace, preservation and access to Buddhist pilgrimage sites.
Over 170 delegates from foreign countries, including Mexico, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Japan, and 150 from India are participating in the conference. While the largest number of delegates are from Sri Lanka (20) and Vietnam (30), there are no participants from China.
