India role model for religious harmony in the world, says Dalai Lama
Dec 19, 2021
Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], December 19 : Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has called India a role model of religious harmony in the world in his address during a two-day long virtual event on 'Maha Satipatthana Sutta' for Theravada Sangha.
The event organised by the Sri Lankan Tibetan Buddhist Brotherhood Society on 'Unduvap Full Moon Poyaday' was attended by hundreds of Buddhist lamas from Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The Tibetan spiritual leader attended the event virtually from his residence in Dharmshala in Himachal Pradesh.
"The Indian religious tradition teaches non-violence, not harming others. In India, the practice of non-violence - Ahimsa and Karuna have been practised for over 3,000 years. So, in India different religious traditions of the world such as Islam, Christianity, Jew and Judaism and so forth live together. India is an example, role model for religious harmony in the world. Since I came to exile in India as a refugee the practice of non-violence and religious harmony I found to be excellent in India," he said.
One of the leading TV channels of Sri Lanka 'Hiru TV' reported that most Ven Niyangoda Vijithasiri, the Anunayake Theory of Malwatte Chapter of Siyam Maha Nikaya, Most Ven Waskaduwe Mahindawansa, the Mahanayake Thero of Sri Amarapura Sambuddha Sasanodaya Sangha Sabha and more than six hundred Maha Sangha representing the three main Nikayas of Sri Lanka participated in the programme.
In his address, the Dalai Lama said, "Buddha himself has given us the freedom to analyse his own teaching and not take it on the face value, literally. So, in the Nalanda tradition therefore there is great emphasis on checking the teachings of the Buddha himself. So, the more you analyse through rational approach, the teachings of Buddha, the greater the certainty you gain. It's not like the more you do analyses of teaching you lose the track of your analyses and just stick to the faith alone. It's not like that. So, what we need is to develop faith in the teachings of the Buddha".
The Buddhist monks who joined the event virtually asked several questions to Dalai Lama about the teaching of Buddha. They even raised questions about integrating or interpreting Mahasatipatthana to the modern people and non-religious ones.
