Dalai Lama talks about cultivating peace of mind for stable democratic societies

The Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, held a virtual meeting with Prof Lia Diskin of Palas Athena, Brazil, where the two discussed "Educating the Heart for the New Millennium" and emphasised the need for peace in life and encouraged people to cultivate peace of mind for stable democratic societies. People have a much broader experience of democracy and social responsibility, which reflects concern for the wider community. "We need to encourage more people to cultivate peace of mind for stable democratic societies," said Lama, emphasising the world democracies.

During the conversation, Lama talked about human intelligence, which differentiates them from animals, and said that even though elephants have bigger brains, we humans are far more intelligent. He added that "Intelligence is a distinctly human quality." However, if this intelligence is combined with hatred, anger, and fear, it can be very destructive. Therefore, we must be careful to combine it with warm-heartedness instead. Cultivating warm-heartedness is not just a religious peace. Since our lives depend on the community in which we live, we need to help each other. And to do that, intelligence alone is not enough; we need warm-heartedness too," said the Dalai Lama.

Speaking about the prevalent climate crisis, Lama laid stress on the need to balance the equilibrium in order to control damage to the environment. He said, "I often observe that over the last few thousand years, anger and self-centeredness have given rise to a great deal of trouble on this planet." He further said that this planet is a home for every living being, and protecting our environment is for our own good and for future generations. "

"Global warming is increasing rapidly, and, along with it, we are seeing more extreme climatic events--floods, droughts, and fires," he repeated that saving the environment is like protecting our home. When asked about children and education, Lama said education plays a vital role in one's life and today's education system must include instruction about the role warm-heartedness plays in an individual's good health, as well as peace with families, communities, and the world. During his interaction with Prof Lia Diskin, the spiritual leader of Tibet discussed multiple issues, including the great rivers that supply water to millions of people. He also discussed demilitarisation and said, "When I think of the amount of money being spent on weapons, armies, and 'defence,' I think it is out of date and a mistake. We need to make this a more peaceful century, an era of demilitarization".

Image: AP

With Inputs from ANI