His Holiness urges young people to embrace globalisation
Monday, 18 September 2006, 11:30 a.m.
Denver: Thousands of teenagers gathered for the PeaceJam world convention rose to their feet and cheered Saturday, greeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama like a rock star.
In his traditional maroon robe, His Holiness spoke for more than an hour at PeaceJam, which brought together 10 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, urging the teens to keep open hearts and practice peace in their daily lives.
”At this moment, in 2006, the major part of this century is in your hands,” he told them.
Facing a future with an ever-growing population, more and more demands for energy and food, and huge disparities in wealth, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the next generation will have to embrace globalization and accept people from all countries as neighbors and collaborators, not rivals.
”There are no national boundaries. The whole globe is becoming one body,” he said. ”In these circumstances, I think war is outdated … Destruction of your neighbor is actually destruction of yourself.”
Destroying another country in war doesn’t benefit the victor any more. Instead, it creates environmental problems, trade gaps and humanitarian suffering that everyone must bear, he said.
Current strife is the result of past mistakes, he said, and he urged the teens not to get discouraged or think they have to stop all wars themselves. Instead, their mission is to learn from the previous generation’s mistakes and start now by opening dialogue with each other so there are fewer disagreements, misunderstandings and violent clashes in the future.
”If we look carefully, I think we are social animals,” he said. ”We need a sense of caring, a sense of concern for others.”
PeaceJam participants ‘teens assembled from 31 countries’ opened their first day of lectures an interactive sessions with 10 Nobel Peace Prize recipients at the University of Denver. They gathered in ”family groups” of 10 or 12 with a mentor to discuss the challenges that face them, the barriers to world peace, and the teachings of Nobel laureates.
Even before the main weekend began, Talley McLean, 15, from Fort Collins, Colo., said she had already attended sessions dealing with child enslavement in Africa, the Holocaust and genocide. Rather than being discouraged by the weighty topics, McLean said she was energized and determined to make a difference.
”I wouldn’t have missed yesterday for anything,” she said. ”I probably learned more so far here than I’ve ever learned in school.”
Talat Mangla, a 21-year-old veteran of seven smaller PeaceJam gatherings and now a mentor for younger PeaceJammers, said she is preparing to graduate from college ready to promote peace and change.
”I want to penetrate the world,” she said. ”PeaceJam is about creating change wherever you are.”
The Dalai Lama took questions from the teenagers for more than an hour, dealing with everything from war to his own thoughts on prayer.
He told them the mission of the next generation is to show compassion for those less fortunate, to share resources with developing countries and to take action.
”For centuries people are always praying to God, praying to Buddha, but suffering is still there, problems still there,” he said, adding that it is not man’s job to understand why. ”Our action and clear vision is more important than prayer.”
Situations such as oppression and in Burma, despite global calls for peace, are way beyond the scope of one person, but together the rising generation of young adults can make their demands heard if they lead by example and have patience, he said.
”Short term, one individual, it’s difficult for one individual to make a difference,” he said. ”But long term, everyone can make a difference. I always consider myself like any other human being. Not much difference. I have no modern education. For example, computers. My knowledge is hopeless,” he said. ”We all have the same potential, but you have better opportunities.”
Rocky Mountain News
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)