His Holiness the Dalai Lama joins author Pico Iyer in a video-conference from his residence in Dharamsala India on June 17, 2020, as part of the Jaipur Literature Festival’s Brave New World series. He will likely address everything from training the mind to educating the heart and, especially, what we can learn from the recent coronavirus crisis and where our priorities should be in the months and years to come. People are requested to please follow social distancing rules while viewing the live webcast.
Posted by Dalai Lama on Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama was today virtually interviewed by acclaimed writer and friend Pico Iyer for the Jaipur Literature Festival’s Brave New World series.
In the interview, His Holiness spoke about the necessity for developing Karuna and Ahimsa, concepts derived from Indian philosophy which are essential in this modern age, that emphasises heavily on materialistic achievements at the cost of the inner peace.
His Holiness underscored the importance of investigating the source of positive and negative emotions to transform the human mind through reasoning and highlighted his four major commitments as well as the significance of his refugee experience on his education.
Author Pico Iyer opened with the question, “The last few months you have been alone, how do you develop and practise Karuna and Ahimsa in these days? Are there any specific practises others of us could try and develop that?”. His Holiness responded in a lighthearted, jovial gesture and said, “Concerned people have asked me not to meet people, except virtually, so I have holiday”.
On a serious note, His Holiness noted that negative emotions such as anger, attachment, and fear can be reduced by investigating the source of these emotions that is a self-centred attitude and that can be replaced with positive emotions rooted in reason.
His Holiness compared the Buddhist concept of emptiness to Quantum physics which he said proves the Buddhist concept of emptiness.
His Holiness also spoke about the need to revive ancient Indian knowledge of the mind in the present age, hailing India’s potential to combine the two and contribute to humanity and make the world a better place.
The acclaimed writer next brought up the question of the divisive climate globally, “The last time I saw you in Japan in November 2018, you said the world was going through an emotional crisis, not so logical, not thinking about interconnectedness. Are you worried that the world is more divided now?”
In response, His Holiness reasserted his point about the principle of the oneness of humanity, stating that the binaries of us vs them are all “secondary and ancient” on the subject of conflicts among nations.
He further added the idea of nationalism and war was “feudalistic” and not rational, especially in the current age with the interconnected reality of the global economy and climate change making us conscious of the oneness of humanity.
Given a chance a soldier would prefer peace over war even though he will go to war with weapons if commanded, His Holiness expressed.
Similarly, His Holiness shared that the reality of the huge wealth gap between the rich and poor is antithetical to this universal truth.
His Holiness concluded by noting that his refugee experience has enriched his understanding of the world and enabled him to share with the world his knowledge and appreciated the democratic Indian political system which facilitates the exchange of knowledge among thinkers and scholars through the freedom of speech and expression.