By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Aug. 25: Foremost Buddhist figure, His Holiness the Dalai Lama reiterated the need for secular ethics in the Indian modern education system on Tuesday as he interacted with a group of followers via video conferencing from his residence in Dharamshala. The virtual event was organized by Mind Mingle which is an initiative to promote experiential learning methodology, purposeful education and understanding unique potential of each child.
The Tibetan spiritual leader reasserted that India has the potential to combine modern education and ancient Indian tradition to transform the existing learning system. Indian practices such as Ahimsa (non-violence) and Karuna (compassion) can be taught to make the education system more suitable to children. He noted that children readily learn to make distinctions based on external factors as soon as they join educational institutions.
The octogenarian leader cited India as an example where all different religious traditions coexist in harmony except for “few occasions in which we may blame the politicians” for violence in the Indian community. The Dalai Lama reminisced when he first came to India and the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru accepted his request to establish Tibetan schools in India for the children of Tibetan refugees. He also said that all Tibetan monastic institutions are also set in South India where over 10,000 study Buddhist philosophy.
He informed the audience that he fully retired from the political responsibility of Tibet in 2011 but still worked towards protecting Tibetan language and culture. He also said that in one of his four commitments, as a Tibetan, he has pledged to preserve Tibetan Buddhist knowledge taken from the Indian Nalanda tradition. “I have often been called half scientist, half Buddhist,” he further said, noting his continued work towards merging scientific research and Buddhist logical reasoning in the modern education system.
The Nobel laureate also raised issues concerning global warming which continues to increase every year across the world. He emphasised on the need to save the Tibetan plateau from Chinese private companies that exploit natural resources risking the ecology of Tibet as it is the only source of water to many downstream countries in Asia.
