The Dalai Lama Tells The World To Stop Praying For Paris

The Dalai Lama tells the world in regards to Paris that simply praying is not enough.

His Holiness,the Dalai Lama,¹ offered some sensible advice regarding last Friday’s deadly terrorist attacks during an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Asked: “how do you view the terror attacks on Paris?” the Dalai Lama responded that:

The twentieth century was a violent one, and more than 200 million people died due to wars and other conflicts. We now see a spillover of the previous century’s bloodshed in this century. If we emphasize more on non-violence and harmony, we can herald a new beginning. Unless we make serious attempts to achieve peace, we will continue to see a replay of the mayhem humanity experienced in the 20th century.

He continued, stressing that it will take more than simple prayer to resolve issues related to violence such as the Paris attacks:

People want to lead a peaceful lives. The terrorists are short-sighted, and this is one of the causes of rampant suicide bombings. We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place. [emphasis added]

The Dalai Lama went on to call for a systematic approach to peace instead of simply waiting for God, Buddha or governments to save us:

We need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values of oneness and harmony. If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will be different from the previous one. It is in everybody’s interest. So let us work for peace within our families and society, and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments. [emphasis added]

Asked about his message of “peace, compassion and religious tolerance,” the Dalai Lama stressed that there is no justification for killing others, that the problems of the modern world are the “result of superficial differences,” reminding us that “we are one people.”

I disagree. I think that only a small percentage of people subscribe to the violent discourse. We are human beings, and there is no basis or justification for killing others. If you consider others as brothers and sisters and respect their rights, then there is no room for violence.

Furthermore, the problems that we are facing today are the result of superficial differences over religious faiths and nationalities. We are one people.

Image: “Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama in 2014” by Pete Souza – White House (P022114PS-0088). Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

FOOTNOTE 1: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is the successor in a line of tulkus² believed to be incarnation of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.³

FOOTNOTE 2:”A tulku (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ, Wylie: sprul sku, ZYPY: Zhügu, also tülku, trulku) is a custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his predecessor.” source

FOOTNOTE 3: “In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhisattva is the Sanskrit term for anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.” source

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

The Dalai Lama – Prayer Is Not The Answer For Paris

The Dalai Lama tells the world in regards to Paris that simply praying is not enough.