OnlineHost: In 1935, a boy was born to a poor family
: in Tibet. When he was two years old,
: Buddhist monks came to his village,
: hoping to find the reincarnation of the
: recently deceased 13th Dalai Lama.
: The boy recognized artifacts belonging
: to the Dalai Lama and passed other
: tests. He became the 14th Dalai Lama.
OnlineHost: In the 1950s, the Chinese threatened
: Tibet, and the young spiritual leader
: was forced to assume political power.
: He tried to find a peaceful solution.
: In 1959, the Chinese Army defeated
: the Tibetan resistance movement,
: and the Dalai Lama fled to India
: with thousands of his followers.
OnlineHost: Since 1959, the Dalai Lama has been the
: symbol of a free Tibet, of the vitality
: of Tibetan Buddhism and of the power of
: nonviolence. In 1989, he won the Nobel
: Peace Prize. He has written many books,
: most recently "The Art of Happiness"
: and "Ethics for The New Millennium."
OnlineHost: The Dalai Lama lives in India. He is in
: New York City this weekend to complete
: a cycle of teaching. He will be giving
: a free talk in New York's Central Park
: this Sunday morning at 11 AM ET. For
: more information, please go to
: Keyword: Dalai Lama.
Jessekay: Your Holiness, it is a great honor to welcome you to America Online.
DalaiLLive: Thank you. Me too. THis is the first time for
DalaiLLive: me to communicate through this kind of machine
Jessekay: We have 5,000 questions from our members.
Jessekay: I have read most most of them.
Jessekay: They can be summed up --- many of thenm --- in one question.
Jessekay: It is:
Jessekay: So much envy, hate and rage in the world.
Jessekay: So much violence, real and psaychological.
Jessekay: So many broken-hearted people.
Jessekay: Is there one simple thing each of can do to quiet the noise and start the way to peace?
RBCF Ray H: (19)BTW, for those who may be interested, there are regularly scheduled Buddhist Chats here on AOL, anyone who would want info send me email :)
DalaiLLive: I always feel every human being have
DalaiLLive: potential, good and bad.
DalaiLLive: So, there is no reason to feel hopelessness.
DalaiLLive: Each one has the potential to create
DalaiLLive: peaceful life.
DalaiLLive: And with that conviction, the actual beginning bust
DalaiLLive: start from within.
DalaiLLive: From within one individual.
DalaiLLive: Create some calm mind within oneself.
DalaiLLive: Spread that to the family and then to
DalaiLLive: the society at large.
DalaiLLive: Firstly, I think that if we look at overall
DalaiLLive: picture, in spite many tragic dort
DalaiLLive: of news here and there, we often hear the violence.
DalaiLLive: In Kosovo, and some other places, where force
DalaiLLive: has been used, people
DalaiLLive: are becoming skeptical about the
DalaiLLive: usage of force.
DalaiLLive: That's a sign that
DalaiLLive: people are losing hope in the use of force.
DalaiLLive: That is a hopeful sign.
DalaiLLive: Thinking this way you will get
DalaiLLive: some kind of hope.
DalaiLLive: With hope you can get determination.
DalaiLLive: That's my belief.
Jessekay: In yoir new book, Ethics for The New Millennium,
Jessekay: you write that rreligious belief
Jessekay: does not matter much. You say:
Jessekay: it is more important to 'be a good person.'
Jessekay: Coming from a religious leader, that sems radical. Please explain.
DalaiLLive: Obviouosly there are many people who
DalaiLLive: do not believe in religion.
DalaiLLive: In fact the majority people are not very
DalaiLLive: serious about religious faith.
DalaiLLive: So firstly, these people are also human beings
DalaiLLive: and secondly they are the majority.
DalaiLLive: So in the past, there are habits, and once you have no interest
DalaiLLive: in religion, they also see no interest
DalaiLLive: in compassion and forgiveness.
DalaiLLive: Whether they accept the religioin or not
DalaiLLive: they want happiness and they want harmony
DalaiLLive: and the foundation of harmony is compassion.
DalaiLLive: That's the basis of our happiness and
DalaiLLive: our future.
DalaiLLive: So whether they believe in religion, they need
DalaiLLive: a sense of human compassion. That is my approach.
Jessekay: How do we find compassion in ourselves --- and then teach it to our children?
DalaiLLive: Compassion, means not only just close
DalaiLLive: feelings but also a sense of responsibility and respect
DalaiLLive: and also much of it is based on the realization
DalaiLLive: that others are just like myself.
DalaiLLive: Want happiness, do not want sufferring.
DalaiLLive: They have the same right to be a happy person.
DalaiLLive: On that basis develop a sense of concern and
DalaiLLive: compassion.
DalaiLLive: I use the logic and reason that my interest
DalaiLLive: is dependant on others interests.
DalaiLLive: If I care about others interests then my interests
DalaiLLive: will be benefited.
DalaiLLive: If you don't take care of other interests then others
DalaiLLive: will discard you.
DalaiLLive: And in order to get more inner peace
DalaiLLive: compassion is the most important factor
DalaiLLive: because compassion brings us inner strength
DalaiLLive: and gives us self confidence, less fear.
DalaiLLive: If analyzed that way, through practice with compassion,
DalaiLLive: you will get an appreciation and enthusiasm for compassion.
DalaiLLive: Through action, other people really get the meaning and
DalaiLLive: the value of compassion.
Jessekay: So many Americans are worried about the millennium. Should we be?
DalaiLLive: I think the millenium is just another year and another
DalaiLLive: century. Nothing special.
DalaiLLive: So the important thing is, if you are looking forward
DalaiLLive: tot he new millenium then you must prepare for it.
DalaiLLive: With good things.
DalaiLLive: Just like we prepare for New Year, bring us good food.
DalaiLLive: I f we try to become good human beings, happy human being, then
DalaiLLive: when that person enters the new millenium they will have
DalaiLLive: the meaning of a good human being.
Jessekay: Is there anything Americans can do to help you and your cause?
DalaiLLive: Firstly, explain to more people about
DalaiLLive: the real situation in Tibet and the nature
DalaiLLive: of just cause.
DalaiLLive: Then you can join some of the Tibetan support groups, and
DalaiLLive: if you are a student in many cities and institutions
DalaiLLive: Students for a Free Tibet
DalaiLLive: is active, so you can join.
DalaiLLive: You can lobby your Congressman and Senator
DalaiLLive: for your constituents.
DalaiLLive: Many Congressmen and Senator are active
DalaiLLive: for supporting Tibetan issues.
DalaiLLive: And try and support them.
DalaiLLive: Then if there are Chinese people living in your
DalaiLLive: area, communicate with them and tell them
DalaiLLive: your feelings about Tibet. That's important.
DalaiLLive: After all the solution must come between Tibet
DalaiLLive: and the Chinese.
DalaiLLive: And so this interaction and Tibet and the Chinese
DalaiLLive: is essential.
Jessekay: Your Holiness, we are so pleased you've joined us here.
Jessekay: Is there a message you'd like our members to take away?
DalaiLLive: I also very much enjoyed the interview
DalaiLLive: through this very modern medium.
DalaiLLive: I am just wondering what you all are feeling!
DalaiLLive: I think on the basis of my own experience, in our daily
DalaiLLive: life that some unhappy news or events always happy
DalaiLLive: and under that circumstances it is helpful
DalaiLLive: to look in a more holistic way
DalaiLLive: then you can reduce your anxiety.
DalaiLLive: If you look only at that problem then your
DalaiLLive: anxiety will increase,
DalaiLLive: if you look from wider perspective.
DalaiLLive: the same problem, looks smaller.
DalaiLLive: That's what I always do.
DalaiLLive: My friends and brother and sister should try
DalaiLLive: this kind of experient and you will see that it
DalaiLLive: is very successful.
DalaiLLive: If you feel this experiement does not work, then forget it
DalaiLLive: no problem.
Jessekay: Thank you. We'll see you in Central Park in New York on Sunday morning.
Jessekay: Safe travel, long life. And peace
DalaiLLive: Thank you. Thank you.
OnlineHost: DalaiLLive has left the room.
OnlineHost: Copyright 1999 America Online, Inc. All
