The Himalayan Beacon

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Devotees wait for the Dalai Lama near the Tibetan monastery in Gangtok on Monday. (Prabin Khaling)

Gangtok, Dec. 20: The Dalai Lama today urged the Sikkim government to keep the Buddhist culture alive in the state, citing the number of monasteries and the religious leanings of the people here.

“There are different religions in Sikkim. But as a whole the state has a Buddhist community with many monasteries. One important aspect of the Sikkimese identity is the Buddhist culture. Therefore it is very important to preserve it,” said the Tibetan spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama was delivering the inaugural address at an international seminar on Science, Spirituality and Studies organised by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology at Chintan Bhavan here.

He said there is a danger that people here will forget the Buddhist culture therefore the government must make a special effort to protect it not only through prayers but also through education.

The Tibetan spiritual leader also observed that Buddhist culture focuses on the community as a whole, while Buddhism as a religion is an individual matter.

He narrated how Muslims in Tibet follow their own religion but live a life guided by the Buddhist culture. “There is a Muslim community in Tibet. They follow their religious faith but their way of life is based on the Buddhist culture,” he said.

The Dalai Lama also expressed his happiness to be in Sikkim. “I am very happy and emotional to be here because Sikkim is very close to Lhasa. I was born in Lhasa and spent three-four years of my life there. I saw a lot of progress here,” he added.

During his speech, that lasted for a little less than an hour, the Dalai Lama said though Buddhism had reached Tibet from India, the Tibetans are the actual holders of the Nalanda tradition. “We have kept intact the real Nalanda traditions. We are the chelas of Buddhism and India is our guru. We share a guru-chela relationship and we are reliable chelas.”

Speaking on the theme of the seminar, an effort of the Sikkim government to bring together scientists and scholars to incorporate “moral ethics” into education, the Dalai Lama observed that ethics should not be based on religious faiths. It should be imparted using common sense. “We need to promote moral values but not through lamas, teachers or priests. We need to do it through scientific findings. It should be imparted in such a manner that the person should realise that the moral values will bring happiness to him and his family. If we tell them that the values are for religion then not many will listen.”

Chief minister Pawan Chamling said: “We are now focusing on quality education. Unless there is equal standard of education, we will not be able to fulfil our mission of equitable development.” He was present at the seminar along with governor B.P. Singh. A host of scholars and spiritual leaders from all over the world are taking part in the four-day conference that will end on December 23.

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