In Hanover, Germany, the Dalai Lama met with school students, spoke to the press and gave public talks on ‘Young People’s Contribution to a Peaceful World’ and ‘Ethics for the Young Generation and Strength through Compassion and Solidarity’.
His Holiness visited Wunstorf, a small town of 40,000 people and met with the Mayor of Wunstorf, Rolf Axel Eberhardt and his wife on Thursday. He then travelled to nearby Steinhude on the southern shore of Lake Steinhude, where he was the guest of the local school meeting in a large marquee.
“You need education, but you also need a vision for the future,” said the 78 year Nobel Laureate. “It (education) should also involve instructions about our minds and emotions. The world has become smaller and what happens in one place has repercussions in another. Among the 7 billion human beings alive today we have many problems, including violence and war, which are man-made problems.”
His Holiness also shared his childhood life and his relation with his parents. His Holiness also noted the importance of learning ethics or moral values in education courses.
Later in the day, His Holiness then gave a public talk to over 4000 people at Badainsel Steinhude, where the Tibetan leader said that love and compassion are important for human beings to live together.
“Some people consider the practice of love and compassion is only related to religious practice and if they are not interested in religion they neglect these inner values. But love and compassion are qualities that human beings require just to live together.”
His Holiness then explained that one need to have tolerance and patience to protect the sense of compassion.
“Sometimes people take these qualities to be signs of weakness. But they’re not, he said. “Anger is a sign of weakness. Genuine compassion and self-confidence are based on deep inner strength, which is expressed through tolerance and forgiveness.”
His Holiness then visited the Vietnamese Vien Giac Monastery. He said that the teaching of the Buddha, whether in the west or east, remains the same although the cultural trappings may change. "But it is the teaching we should pay attention to rather than the culture," he said in his answer to a question by one of the Vietnamese devotees.
He then proceeded to the Hanover Airport from where he flew back to India.
Original article with photos:
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=Dalai+Lama+speaks+to+youth+on+compassion+and+love+in+Germany&id=34022
