(TibetanReview.net, Feb10, 2017) – The Dalai Lama on Feb 8 concluded a six-day visit to New Delhi with an address at that Vivekananda International Foundation, an Indian public policy think-tank affiliated to the Vivekananda Kendra and staffed largely by retired bureaucrats, intelligence officials and retired military personnel. He spoke about the Tibetan people’s keen interest to preserve their language and traditions, which he said could be traced back to Shantarakshita, an eminent ancient Indian philosopher, logician and monk of Nalanda invited to Tibet by Emperor Trisong Detsen.
He said the knowledge the Tibetan people had kept alive over the centuries remained highly relevant to the needs of today. “Partly this is because the Indian masters of the past were so accurate and explicit in the way they explained philosophical points of view belonging to the Mind Only and Middle Way schools of thought. But it is also due to the depth of their understanding of, for example, the workings of our minds and emotions. Compared to profundity of ancient Indian psychology, I feel, if I may be so bold, that modern psychology has barely reached kindergarten level. From discussions I’ve held with scientists and others I have become convinced that the knowledge we have preserved can be of service to humanity today.”
He called on his capacity-packed audience of 250 men and women to pay more attention to the Indian traditions that went back several thousand years and to make themselves more familiar with ahimsa and karuna.
The Dalai Lama also answered questions from the audience.
He recalled a conversation he had with a Swami he admired in Bangalore and found that ethics, concentration and insight—shila, shamatha and vipashyana—were found in both Hindu and Buddhist practices. “What differentiates the traditions is that one supports the idea of an atman, an enduring self, while the other relies on anatman, selflessness, but he made clear that whichever one you choose is a private decision,” he was quoted as saying.
On Feb 9 morning the Dalai Lama left for Vijayawada city in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh where he will take part in a three-day National Women’s Parliament, the first of its kind, scheduled to be held the next day at Pavitra Sangamam, Ibrahimpatnam.
On Feb 12 the Dalai Lama will visit Hyderabad city in Telangana, a new state curved out of Andhra Pradesh few years back. He will lay the foundation stone for a new South Asia hub of the Dalai Lama Centre for Ethics and Transformative Values. Those scheduled to attend the ceremony include the state’s Chief Minister Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The Dalai Lama is also expected to participate in an interactive session with the trainee IPS (Indian Police Service) officers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.