Dalai Lama and his theory of peace

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Dalai Lama and his theory of peace

Since the great Mahatma Gandhi, there has not been a leader with such an insight in what peace means as Dalai Lama, or Tenzin Gyatso, as his real name is. He is the spiritual and political leader of Tibet and is considered as one of the greatest Buddhists in the world. In 1989 Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to free Tibet without taking any violent actions. To create peace in the world you can’t only focus on opposing the physical violence; peace has also an inner dimension. The chaos of terror, violence and death that characterize the world today are connected to our mental problems and feelings. “We can never make peace in the external environment as long as we neglect the inner world and don’t make peace with ourselves”. What Dalai Lama means by this is that we have to deal with our own problems and our own wrath, find the cause of it and then deal with it by understanding it. Dalai Lama also advocates the importance of care and respect for nature, as we are a part of it. The circle of life from birth to death, back and forth, is the model for all ecological cycles. Each and every one of these cycles has, according to Dalai Lama, an inner center of peacefulness, which we just have to find. To find it will help us into balance with ourselves, the world and the nature. A man in balance does not use his fists when he gets mad…

These are all big and great thoughts, but you must keep in mind that they are expressed from a buddhistic point of view. For me, as an agnostic westerner with Christian ethics and Christian basic ideas, it is hard to think that every life form, e. g. a flower, would have an inner center of peace. That sort of formulation feels a bit odd, but I think the basic thought actually could make sense. Psychologically it seems to be fairly accurate too. It is through the psychoanalysis you get down to the bottom of your problems which makes it possible to find the repressed explanation to it. Through understanding and being able to see the anxiety from different points of view you can solve most personal problems, similar to what Dalai Lama believes…

To make peace we also have to fight racism and prejudices. Hostility towards foreigners depends to a great extent, according to Dalai Lama, on lack of knowledge. The more accurate information, knowledge and also contacts, that you have, the easier it is to keep the mind open and to see connections and relations between different people, cultures, ethnic groups and so on. In addition, in the global society of today, the well being, fortune and success of our own community is highly dependent on and united with the wellbeing and interests of other communities. There is no room for prejudices and racism in this complex world.

Doubtlessly Dalai Lama also speaks about love and fellowship, to feel sympathy and to help each other. After all, we are social beings. We exist, live and depend due to other human beings. Whether we like it or not there are hardly any moments of our life when we are not influenced by other people. When we care about our fellow humans, we think less of ourselves, and when we do that our own pain is reduced. Thus, to get involved and to care does only well. Our social environment becomes happier and we feel better. We live in symbiosis and if...