(TibetanReview.net, Jun20, 2018) – The Dalai Lama on Jun 18 concluded a three-day teaching in Latvia’s capital Riga to a group of some 4000 devotees who had come mostly from the Buddhist republics of Russia. It was the exile Tibetan spiritual leader’s fourth annual teaching in the city meant especially for those Buddhists who find travelling to Dharamshala problematic.
The Dalai Lama asked the devotees to approach Tibetan Buddhism through reason and inquiry. “As followers of Buddha, I urge you all to investigate and reflect on what you discover in the teachings. In this way, whatever conclusion you reach will be based on reason, not simply on blind faith,” he was quoted as saying.
He has also made the point that the Buddhist philosophy is something of benefit to everyone, irrespective of any question whether one is a practitioner or not.
He has argued that the Buddhist tradition was based on reason, nature of reality and logic. “Mere faith is not sufficient. You must pursue the study of this tradition. Buddhist practice is to use our intelligence to the maximum and transform our emotions,” he was quoted as saying.
The teaching was jointly organised by the groups Save Tibet Latvia, Save Tibet Foundation (Moscow) and Tibet Culture and Information Center (Moscow). The Dalai Lama headed back to India on Jun 19.