Develop compassion: Dalai Lama

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 16

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama today began the two-day live teaching on tackling negative emotions of fear and anxiety precipitated by the global health crisis.

Drawing from the teachings of Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna in his text “Precious Garland”, the Dalai Lama stated that the analytical and scientific approach of the Nalanda tradition, forming the base for the Tibetan Buddhism, is precise in the study of the working of human mind.

The Dalai Lama observed how materialistic development with its comfort and ease has brought along the human ignorance towards inner peace, so much that even materially successful people feel discontent.

The antidote to this discontent is the understanding that emotional well-being is central to self-confidence and happiness. Tibetan Buddhist philosophy espouses the transformation of mind as the key to achieving peace and happiness within oneself and in the world at large.

The Dalai Lama spoke on the inter-dependence of all living beings. “An individual is reliant on community to survive which teaches us to strive for compassion towards one another, qualities intrinsic to human nature,” he said.

Similarly in the Covid-19 crisis that people are facing today, the Dalai Lama stressed global cooperation and focus on what unites them as members of one human family.