On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the world would be wise to heed the advice of another leader promoting non-violent change. A leader who’s still railing for exactly the kinds of things that Dr. King died to so lucidly request: the Dalai Lama.
From the magnificent Baha’i Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India, he echoed the words of King and a great Indian civil-rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who hailed from the land where the Dalai Lama also now calls home.
Who hasn’t heard Gandhi’s expression, An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?
Addressing students and religious leaders from towns and faiths far and wide, the Dalai Lama urged the world to consider just how hard it is now to know who really threw the first stone:
?Concern yourselves more with the needs of others, with the needs of all humanity, and you’ll have peace of mind. Selfishness creates a distance between us and other people, leading to suspicion and mistrust, ultimately resulting in loneliness. Think of others’ well-being and you’ll be happy.
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“Young brothers and sisters, think more broad-mindedly. Warm-heartedness and compassion are conducive to our physical and mental well-being, while anger, hatred and fear are not. This is why some scientists today talk about warm-heartedness ensuring a ‘healthy mind and a healthy body.’
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“Because the existing education system is oriented towards materialistic goals we need to pay special attention to inner values such as tolerance, forgiveness, love and compassion. If we are to present these in a way that appeals to everyone we need to cultivate secular ethics. This is an approach followed in India for more than a thousand years, but which remains relevant today. India’s deep-seated tradition of ahimsa, or non-violence, is reflected in this age-old respect for all religious traditions and even the views of those who have no faith.?
What’s really needed now to push the world toward truly harmonious living, he said, is education and harmonious dialogue between differing political and ideological institutions:
“All of us have problems, physical and mental. No one is without problems. However, education enables us to view our problems from a wider perspective so we can deal with them.”
Even the threat of terrorism, he said, can only be lessened with the power of restraint, civility and understanding.
As is the Baha’i practice, after the Dalai Lama’s words, he gathered with the audience in the Lotus Temple for a Baha’i devotional featuring prayers and songs from Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, and other faiths.
But, maybe you were hoping to have heard from this day’s true central focus. So let’s hear what Dr. King had to say about what it will take to bring lasting peace to the world. Well, we can’t decide on a favorite, so take your pick from these:
“We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.”
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”
And, oh yeah, there’s this one:
Featured Photo Credit:?His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
