Dalai Lama: Interfaith Meeting & Action for Happiness Event

London, England, 21 September 2015 - Before he left for the day’s other engagements this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave an interview to Christiane Amanpour of CNN. She began by asking: “What are you trying to do here?” and he replied:

“What’s important is that all human beings, wherever they are, whether they are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, have a right to live a happy life. Many think that happiness is to be found outside ourselves in material things, but actually happiness is something that comes from within. So I try to present the importance of inner values not on the basis of religious quotations, but by taking a secular approach based on scientific findings and common sense.

Ms Amanpour remarked that China is changing because of its rapidly developing economy and yet the authorities still refer to His Holiness as a ‘splittist’. He told her that Tibetans had not been seeking independence since 1974 and everybody knows that. She mentioned concern about who will succeed him. He replied that as far as Tibetan Buddhism is concerned the 10,000 monks and nuns who are studying and practising today will be able to preserve it. He made the point that the Buddha’s teaching has survived for 2600 years without there being a recognised reincarnation of the Buddha. He conceded that while he might be the last Dalai Lama, he may yet appoint a successor from among qualified lamas before he goes.

Asked how he sees the persecution of Rohingyas in Burma His Holiness said: “It’s very sad. I have appealed to Burmese Buddhists to stop and think. When they feel angry or resentful of these people, remember the face of the Buddha. I believe that if the Buddha were there, he would offer the Rohingyas his protection.”

Finally, noting that President Xi Jinping will shortly be visiting the USA and the UK, Ms Amanpour wanted to know what His Holiness would say to him if he had the opportunity to do so. He answered:

“Perhaps I’d say that that although historically we were an independent country, as records of the 7th to 9th centuries show, we are not seeking independence now. We can benefit from the development we get as part of the People’s Republic of China, but we must be able to preserve our language, culture and Buddhist traditions. I’d remind him that last year in Paris and Delhi he said that Buddhism plays an important role in Chinese culture. Buddhist values can be of help at a time when the injustice and corruption he seeks to contain are widespread.”

Arriving at the House of Lords to attend an Interfaith Meeting organized by the Buddhist Society, His Holiness was welcomed by Baroness Caroline Cox and Desmond Biddulph, the Society’s President. They escorted him through the grand halls to the meeting, which was attended by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus of various denominations and a Sikh.

Baroness Cox amused everyone when she introduced herself as a nurse and social scientist by profession and a Baroness by astonishment. Remarking that she was the first Baroness she’d ever met, she added that she realized that the role gave her a voice to use on behalf of those who have no voice. Desmond Biddulph told the gathering that His Holiness is the Patron of the Buddhist Society and that this was an opportunity to celebrate his 80th birthday and the Society’s 90th anniversary. He said that one of His Holiness’s requests had been that, as Buddhists, members of the Society should reach out to others. He invited His Holiness to address the gathering, which he did.

“It’s a great honour for me to be sitting here with spiritual brothers and sisters of various traditions. In too many places today it seems religious and nationalistic feelings are giving rise to terrible conflicts. We have to find ways to bring peace. This is something that those of us who are religious have to do. Meetings like this are an opportunity to build and nurture friendship and trust among us.

“There is an impression in many people’s minds these days that Muslims are especially militant. However, we have to remember that there are militant Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews and Buddhists too. The Muslim community that lived in Tibet were a very peaceful community and meeting them in exile I am reminded of the pure Lhasa dialect they still speak.

“Muslim friends have told me that if you shed blood you are no longer a genuine Muslim and that Muslims have a commitment to respect all the creatures of Allah. They also tell me that the word ‘jihad’ is misunderstood. It doesn’t have anything to do with fighting other people, but refers to combating disturbing emotions within yourself.”

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu spoke of growing up in Uganda with two Muslim children from Zanzibar. His father took them in when their own parents died in a fire and he was unable to trace any other relatives. Although theirs was a Christian family, his father arranged for these two children to attend a mosque on Fridays. The Archbishop reported that in a similar spirit he has spoken in the House of Lords of the need to encourage the Chinese authorities to acknowledge and respect His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader. He said he feels it’s important to remember, “I am not my brother’s keeper, I am my brother’s brother.”

Archbishop Kevin McDonald conveyed greetings to His Holiness and members of the gathering from Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the United Kingdom. He also recalled serving in the Vatican when Pope John Paul II convened the ground-breaking interfaith gathering in Assisi in 1986 that His Holiness and Archbishop Robert Runcie had attended.

Baroness Berridge, Chair of the All Party Group on International Religious Freedom, who had just returned from the USA, mentioned her concern for persecuted Muslims and Christians in Burma and elsewhere. She said that those in public life have a responsibility to work for rights for all.

Chime Rinpoche took the opportunity simply to say thank you to His Holiness for all he has done.

The Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth, remarked that violence is never of any help and that religious leaders need to make this clear their various governments. He pointed out that while there is public horror at the violence in Syria and Iraq, last week saw a great arms show in the UK. He said it seems there is still too great a sense that the use of military force is the way to solve problems, but in fact in the long run words are more effective than bullets. The meeting as a whole expressed dismay at the way violence continues and a determination to work for dialogue.

In his closing remarks, His Holiness repeated what he often says, that love and compassion are what bring people together, while anger and suspicion push them apart. He noted that religious people have their own different paths, each of which is worthy of respect. He said the common purpose of different kinds of food is to fill our stomachs, but it would be foolish to say, “I like to eat this food, therefore you should eat it too!”

He drew attention to three aspects of religious tradition. The religious aspect concerns the common practice of love and compassion, tolerance and self-discipline. While philosophical views may be quite different, they are all dedicated to the same goal of reinforcing the practice of love. However, he said, there may also be cultural aspects of religious tradition, like caste discrimination, that are no longer relevant and should be changed. He said he encourages religious leaders to speak out about these things whenever they can. The meeting adjourned for lunch in the Strangers’ Dining Room of the House of Commons.

In the afternoon, an enthusiastic and friendly audience of more than 2000 awaited His Holiness’s arrival at the Lyceum theatre. He was met at the stage door by his old friend Lord Richard Layard, who with Director of Action for Happiness, Mark Williamson, escorted him to the stage. They were received with resounding cheers and applause. Dr Williams explained that a new course of training was being launched today on World Peace Day, called Exploring What Matters. He said that it is ever more important to bring people together to think about their lives and to help them make their lives happier.

He invited Jasmine Hodge-Lake to the stage to tell her story. She explained that following an accident that left her injured and in pain, she had become depressed. Attending an Action for Happiness talk helped her understand she could relate differently to her pain. She then took the pilot Action for Happiness course that helped her realize how she could bring hope back into her life and help others. She said:

“I learned how helping others you can help yourself. I’m a different person now to the one I was before the Action for Happiness course. I realized I could be the change I wanted to see.”

Adrian Bethune, a teacher at John Stainer Community Primary School told of becoming disillusioned with teaching until he also took the course. It helped him understand how he could do his work more positively and introduce changes in the classroom. He began to discuss with his students how the mind and brain work based on insights from neuroscience. He rebranded an anti-bullying programme as ‘it’s cool to be kind.’ On Fridays he asked the students to think back and choose three good things they’d done that week. He said teacher and students have become much happier about coming to school.

Prof Layard then opened a conversation with His Holiness, who is Action for Happiness’s Patron. He asked him how we can have more happiness, more peace in our hearts and His Holiness replied:

“Peace means no disturbance, no danger. It relates to our mental attitude. If we have a calm mind, obstacles will be less disruptive. The important thing is to realize that ultimately peace of mind is within us, it takes a warm heart and using our intelligence. People sometimes think warm heartedness, compassion and love are religious topics; they are actually factors for our survival. If we don’t take steps to reinforce these qualities now, the 21st century will also end up being an era of violence like the 20th century. We can’t expect change if we don’t take action. Prayer is not sufficient; we have to take responsibility ourselves. Problems created by human beings have to be solved by human beings.”

When Prof Layard asked how we can improve our relations with each other, His Holiness told him that as social animals people have to overcome their old habit of seeing others in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’, which just solidifies division. He said we have to see that we are all just human beings and that in our globalized world we have to deal with a global economy and problems like climate change whose effects ignore national boundaries. We have instead to cultivate a sense of global responsibility that sees everyone as ‘us’.

His Holiness explained how discussions with scientists over 30 years had contributed to an understanding of a curriculum of secular ethics in education from kindergarten to university. Part of this involves working with a map of emotions to ensure that the physical hygiene we need to be healthy is accompanied by emotional hygiene.

He answered several questions from the audience, observing that the natural seed of compassion we all possess can, if we use our intelligence, be extended to encompass even our enemies. He acknowledged the need to look after our own interests, but explained that the foolish way to do this is to focus on ourselves alone. A wiser sense of self-interest takes others’ interests into account as well. Asked what one thing people could do to make the world a happier place he answered: “Cultivate affection.”

As the discussions came to a close and His Holiness waved goodbye to the audience they responded with affectionate cheers.

Once the curtain had dropped on the stage, the BBC’s Mark Easton asked His Holiness about the launch of Exploring What Matters and Action for Happiness. He suggested that some were cynical that such moves could be effective. His Holiness retorted that such resistance is just old-fashioned thinking. Warm-heartedness can make individuals, families, communities and even countries happier. He said:

“Even the creation of the EU was essentially an act of compassion. And look, I'm convinced more positive reporting by the BBC and the media, just as you are doing now, can really help make people happier.”

original link + ;photos: http://dalailama.com/news/post/1320-interfaith-meeting-and-action-for-happiness-event

Change Your Mind, Change the World - Discussion to Make the World a Healthier, Happier Place

Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 15 May 2013 - Inspiration for convening this discussion of well-being in relation to global health and happiness arose when Richard Davidson, Chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds and Jonathan Patz, Director of the Global Health Institute, both at the University Wisconsin-Madison, were visiting His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India. He showed great interest in participating in such a conversation.

Once His Holiness and the panellists had taken their seats on the stage of the Overture Center for the Arts, which was filled to capacity, proceedings both in the morning and afternoon opened with a musical-poetic performance by Logan Phillips, Molly Sturges and Aaron Stern of the Academy for the Love of Learning, who presented musical and poetic notions of a happier world, such as ‘we are a beautifully sung song.’

Richie Davidson introduced his old friend Dan Goleman, moderator of the morning’s session, who began by making clear that the discussions aimed to talk about being well in every sense; exploring different ways in which we can flourish. Richie referred to findings that changes in the body can be attributed to stress, but that there is new work to show that happiness and well-being have positive effects on the body too. His Holiness asked how you measure well-being and Richie said they rely on self-report. His Holiness was asked if he had advice on how to make well-being more widespread.

“I think you already know what I think.” he replied, “But these people in the audience may not have heard it before. At this point everyone here feels at ease, but if I think of you as somehow different from me, if I think that I’m Tibetan, I’m Buddhist, an Easterner, I’m a monk or even something grand like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this kind of thinking automatically creates a gap between us. It results in a sense of unease. On the other hand, if I consider you as another human being, just like me, then that source of anxiety disappears.

“I’m very happy and encouraged to be here. Some scientists don’t even accept the existence of mind, they think there’s only the brain. If that were the case we ought to be able change the way we live through surgery. However, the proper way to train the mind is by using the mind itself, not in connection with the next life or anything like that, but focussing on a healthy society and a happier humanity here and now. Everybody wants a happy life and a peaceful mind, but we have to produce peace of mind through our own practice.

“Modern science’s interest in mind or consciousness is new, and so is the public interest in mind and emotional training. Have I spoken for too long?”

Jonathan Patz noted the news that for the first time the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached 400 parts per million. He said scientists are very concerned that if this continues and reaches 450ppm it will be very dangerous. He recalled that last time he and His Holiness met, they talked about global climate change and he had explained that it would bring heat-waves, hunger and drought. His Holiness had responded:

“If we have the knowledge we have to act.”

He talked about work he has done concerning the peregrine falcon, which is an endangered species. It was only when the focus shifted to habitat and the context of the falcons’ lives that they began to be effective.

“Consequently,” Patz said, “when we think of prospects for our own species, we need to see ourselves in the context a healthy environment, which means a healthy planet.”

His Holiness remarked that this is clear evidence of the need to focus on long term interests, of our need for moral principles and a sense of responsibility.

Don Berwick talked about developments in health care noting that when he began his career all children with leukemia died, but now they don’t. However, health costs continue to increase, which means that spending on education, for example, has dropped. He mentioned three mistakes with regard to health care: the belief that more is better; the belief that the way to health is through technological solutions rather than looking at what we eat and how we live; and the belief that we can treat the body but not the mind. He said that when he explains that sometimes less is more, people feel they are being deceived.

His Holiness agreed that new findings are sometimes not easy to accept, which is why the public needs to hear more from experts like those on the panel. This is a role which the media can play; they should give such experts more exposure. People need to understand that if they want to live long and be comfortable, they may have to change some of the things they are used to.

Ilona Kickbusch began with the observation that she was both happy and unhappy to be the only woman on the panel. She said that great strides have been taken in relation to global health, but that we are reaching the limits of this particular model, the ‘vertical disease model’. Consequently, there is a need to rethink what health is, to combine a drive for equity and health care reform.

Last time His Holiness and Richard Layard met, he told him about Action for Happiness, which His Holiness asked to join. He explained that the movement has since been successfully launched and has attracted 30,000 members. What’s more, some governments have begun to adopt some of its objectives regarding well-being, among them Bhutan and the UK. Meanwhile the OECD, the club of developed nations, has drawn up codes to measure well-being rather than depending only on economic indicators; this is a major revolution.

Less encouraging was his report that within the context of general well-being, mental health is not taken sufficiently seriously, which amounts to discrimination. He said there is treatment and good prospects for recovery, but overall mental health is not regarded as seriously as physical health. He asked His Holiness how he interprets this finding.

“Knowledge of the mind is limited.” His Holiness said, “People have only a superficial view of what mind is, which is a cultural issue. I agree that the brain is complex and sophisticated, but the mind and emotions are also sophisticated and complex. Maybe it’s due to a fundamental misunderstanding that it’s the physical that you have to fix. We need to view these things in a different way. Because we take physical health seriously we have codes of physical hygiene, I’m proposing that equally important are codes of mental and emotional hygiene.”

Richard Layard concluded with two facts: every human being wants to be happy and every human being is equally important. If we acknowledge these, we can work to increase the spread of happiness. His Holiness responded that if we can let people know that adopting this or that measure will improve their peace of mind and improve their physical health, it will lead to a more attractive solution.

Moderator for the afternoon was Arianna Huffington, who began with the observation that our world has become unmanageable. She also remarked that while we all have a place of inner strength within us, most of us are not there most of the time and we need to ask how we can get there more often.

Richie Davidson offered five facts about well-being for consideration. 1. Well-being is a skill, 2. Well-being seems to be universally related to the mind’s well-being. He referred to a study that asked people: what are you doing? is your mind focussed? and are you happy? The response showed that people’s well-being is higher when they are focussed, but also that their minds wander a good deal. When the mind wanders performance suffers. It is a source of suffering; people are not happy living this way. His Holiness recognised Richie’s description of the wandering mind, saying he is familiar with it too.

Richie continued to explain the facts about well-being. 3. Well-being is associated with patterns of both mind and body. 4. Well-being has three aspects - returning to calm after a stressful event; mindfulness and generosity. 5. There is an innate disposition towards well-being, demonstrated by findings that young babies show a preference for altruistic behaviour.

Arianna asked what we can do to ensure that such well-being becomes more widespread. His Holiness replied:

“I mentioned this morning - education, in schools but also through our various media. We need to see reports of positive as well as negative news. Basic human nature is gentle. We are born from our mothers, who show us affection. We are social animals and depend on each other to survive. People who receive more affection from their mothers are happier and more secure. The basic gentle nature we are born with tends to become dormant as we grow up, we need training and education from an early age to ensure that it remains fresh instead. This is an example of using our human intelligence for the well-being of ourselves and society.”

Jonathan Patz said that his theme for the afternoon was interdependence. Without awareness of interdependence we won’t understand that our energy consumption is affecting the world’s climate. We need to be mindful of that, just as we need to be mindful of our consumption. His Holiness commented:

“We must address these problems like global climate change and the global economy as one community. We can’t expect our population of 7 billion human beings to live the life of a hermit. When the world population was smaller each country was self-sufficient, but today’s reality is that everyone is interdependent; the old way doesn’t work anymore. For example, you spend a huge amount of money and resources on developing and maintaining nuclear weapons, and yet, because, quite rightly, no one dares use them, the money is in effect wasted. We must find ways to change the way things have been done until now.”

Matthieu Ricard suggested that we have so far underestimated the power of mental health, but expressed confidence that this can change. Arianna wanted to know if His Holiness feels we have reached a tipping point. He replied:

“If we make consistent effort, based on proper education, we can change the world. We are selfish, that’s natural, but we need to be wisely selfish, not foolishly selfish. We have to concern ourselves more with others’ well-being, that’s the way to be wisely selfish. We have the ability to take the long-term benefit into account. I think it is possible to make real change in this century.

“Education is the best way to train ourselves that we will secure our own well-being by concerning ourselves with others. It is possible to create a better world, a more compassionate, more peaceful world, which is not only in everyone’s interest, but is everyone’s responsibility to achieve.”

His Holiness offered each member of the panel a kata, a white silk scarf, and then standing hand in hand with them at the front of the stage, energetically appealed to the audience.

“Great changes start with individuals; the basis of world peace is inner peace in the hearts of individuals. This is something we can all work for. If what you’ve heard here interests you, if you think it’s something you can act on, share it with others. If there are a thousand people here and each of you shares this with ten friends, ten thousand people will hear about it, and so on. That’s the way we can change our minds and change the world. Thank you.”

original link with photos http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/947-change-your-mind-change-the-world---discussion-to-make-the-world-a-healthier-happier-place