HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

London, July 1,1981

(His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet paid a brief visit to London in the summer of 1981 at the invitation of the Dean of Westminster, the Very Rev. Edward F. Carpenter. On July 1 st, He gave the following public talk at Central Hall, Westminster to over two and a half thousand people. His Holiness was introduced and welcomed by the Dean of Westminster, who paid Him this tribute:)

HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA talks:

My old friends here, as well as other brothers and sisters - as usual I am going to express something in which I myself believe, and which I express wherever I go..Now, first I must tbank all the concerned people, who organised this opportunityand also the people who own this hallI must thank allYou see, this meeting only materialised because of some other persons' kindness, or sympathetic consideration ..Without other people's genuine sympathetic consideration this sort of thing could not materialise..So, I must thank those people..Now, I think, you see,..here I am not going to teach any Buddha dharma,..but I am just going to express a universal message ..or, something which is common to everybodySo, you see, while I am speaking I regard myself, or I believe, that I am just a human being.Forget about the Dalai Lama about the Tibetan about the Buddhist monkForget these thingsI myself, you see,I feel just a good human beinga good citizen of this worldYou, who are listening, also, at this moment, please think of yourselves as human beingsnot as English, or Western, or French, or German, or Asian, or Buddhist, or, Christian, or MoslemThese things are secondary We must go into a deeper levelThat is: all human beings are the same, the sameness of mankindNow, on that level I shall speakand please, you also listen on that level Now, you see. We, everybodywhether educated or uneducatedrich or poor Eastern or Westernirrespective of different ideology or different racebasically we all are the same human beings, with the same human flesh, the same human bones and these thingsWith this we have the same human consciousnessWeEverybody wants happinessWe do not want suffering On that level all people are the sameAlso, you see, we all have an equal right to be happy Now, there is happiness and unhappiness, or painOne kind of happiness is mainly related with the mindAnother kind of happiness is related with the physical bodySince we have both a physical body as well as a mind, we need both kinds of happinessbut in comparing which one is more importantwhich is superiorobviously the mental happiness is much more forceful, and much more important, than mere physical happinessphysical pleasurephysical blisshappiness Excuse me, while I am talking I am also learning some new English wordshahaha AnywayNow, our mental attitude is something very, very importantvery forcefulAccording to my own experience, when you face certain problemscertain painsor a certain tragedyeither you yourself, or your friendsat that moment, the way in which your mind is involved is a very important factorOnce our own mind is clear and its wisdom is alerted, we can minimise such problems.. and we can face them better and more easilyAs a result, you see, since the problem cannot irritate us, our mind remains calmand we are able to use our good, human brain to see how to tacklehow to handlethat problemIf we lose that qualityif our mind is overcome by emotional feelingsif our mind is conquered by fear, or anxiety, or hatred, or angerthen our mind has lost the power of judgementThe result may be that we take a mad decisionLater on you feel very regretful So, nowOne of the qualities of the human brain is our wisdomour power of judgement Now, whatever we faceany problem, or any circumstancewe should not lose our brain power, which is something like a God giftsomething we haveThat wisdom is something marvellous So, you seeour mind is shapelesscolourlessIike spaceIt is difficult to realiseyet, it is the basis of everythingIt can reflect many thingsMind itself cannot touchonly feelor experienceYet, it is very powerful So now, you seemental training is something very usefulwhether you are a believer or a non-believerthis is something differentwhether you accept the God-theory, whether you accept reincarnation whether you accept Nirvana, or notthat is a different matter Today, we are living human beingsThis is a factWe want happinessThis is a fact Now, you seeWe are selfishIf you are truly selfish, you must be 'wise selfish', rather than 'foolish selfish'We must use our good brainour wisdomThen we can overcome these human tragedies and human problems You seecertain problems, whether we like it or not, we have to faceOther problems we can avoid Now here, you seeOn a national levelor on an individual, personal levelor on an international levelthere are many problemsIf you make different categories., some problems are due to natural causesWe cannot avoid themFor example certain natural disastersor the fact that once we take the human form we have to ultimately face deathand also we have to face old ageThese things, sooner or later, we have to faceBut, there is another category of basically man made problemsdue to ideology, due to certain systems, government systems or economy systemsAnyway, due to different thoughts, or different products of the mind we ourselves have created these problemsAnd these problems, if we adopt the right attitude, the right understanding, the right realisationWith wisdom we can avoid these problems So, you seeWe human beings of this twentieth century, now standing on the threshold of the next century, we have achieved a very, very high level of advancement in science, and in technologyYet, as regards our mental development, we are still at a very, very low level We have not advanced muchIf through external means alone we were able to get satisfactory resultssatisfactory happinessthen there would be no need to bother with alternatives But this is not so! Neither in individual cases, nor in national cases and international cases..

So, it is worthwhile to try another means to get more peace, or more happiness.. Now, here, we come to mental developmentMental development is in a way difficult, but in a way we have all the facilitiesYou see, our brain is a gift of our parentsNo need to buy it No need to construct any other big machinesWe have everything.. Now, you seethe question is whether we should make a constant effort or notregarding mental developmentI am not talking about deep meditationor deeper wisdomThat is something quite differentHere I am talking about our usual moral ethics, or moral principles... One thing: as I mentioned, wisdom means 'full realisation', and 'investigation from a wider viewpoint'For example, when some problem arisesif you look at it closely, you see it as being very bigwhereas if you look at it from a distance, it becomes smallerThis is what I call wisdom... the wisdom which I am at the moment talking aboutThis is the kind of wisdom I mean Now, you seeThe other thing is kindnessNot deeper kindness, but the sort of kindness which our parents showed to usThat kind of kindnessNow, the wisdom, or judgement, and the kindnessthese two are the basis of mental development.. Now, you seeKindnessor a good hearta warm heartWhether you are educated or not, whether you are rich or poor, if you have a warm hearta warm feelingyou become a good human beingYou may face less enemiesIf you have less warmth, and more ill-feeling, then as a natural result you will face more problemsSo, therefore the development of kindness is the keypoint If we have kind feelings, and we practise kindness, we will be much happier With kindnesswith stable kindness, even if someone tries to kill you, you may not be disturbed.. If you have no kindnessif you are full of hatredthen even when you see your own shadow you may panic and think: 'Oh, there is somethingSomething is coming!'That sort of feeling you may experienceSo, you seekindnessor a Good Heartis something very important NowAccording to my own little experienceif you try to practise developing kindness it will help youThe more kindness you have, the more tolerance and patience will come Nowwith patiencewith toleranceyou always retain your determination and your courage If you have very little patienceif you are very impatientthen you are in great danger of losing your courageThe result will be suicideor fightingThat result is hopelessNothing is gained So, therefore, you seekindness is something very, very important Now, you seeOn a family levelIf two persons, a husband and wife, besides lovethe general kind of loveshow each other a good kindness and a good respectI mean, mutual respect and mutual kindnessthen they will lead a happy lifeNot only thembut their own children, their own parents, will share their happiness tooEven when two persons get married, they take some kind of oath in churchor something like itYou promise: 'I will do something good!'If, despite that, the couple do not develop kindness, but just have a low-level love.. then after a few weeksa few monthsthe picture will be changedThey start quarrelling.. and the result is that not only two people are unhappy, but their own children also suffer and not only temporarilytheir whole lives may be harmedDeep in their consciousness something may be damagedAnd also the couple's friendsand also their parents..wil! not be happySo, this is what happens on a family levelNow, on a national leveland on an international levelat this present timeat this momentIn ancient timeseach family and every village as wellwas independentThere was not much necessity for depending on one anotherBut now the picture has completely changedNot only from village to village, from nation to nation, but even from continent to continent one is heavily dependent on each other Now look at this big cityAll these cars are movingwith oil! Without oil you cannot drive those carsSometimes I jokingly tell people: if you import oil from other continentsfortunately here in Britain you have some North Sea oilThat is a good thing! But in general, I thinkin Germany, or Francethey have to rely on Libyan oil, or Middle-Eastern oilSo, if you have oil, it is very convenient, then these big cars, air-conditioned and very comfortable, are most useful.. But if there is no oil, you have to carry the car, instead of the car carrying you.. So, you seeeven on that very simple level, we obviously depend on otherson other continentsSo, under such circumstancesif we hate each otherif we compete with each other, with bad motivationthe other party will never listen and will never agreeGradually they will go on increasing prices and so oncreating one condition, and another condition, and another condition, and another oneThen the poor people sufferThe rich may be able to handle the consequencesbut poor people sufferThe same with unemployment and other such problemsIf you look for their ultimate causeit is that we are lacking in human feeling..We are

lacking kindnessSo, therefore, on a national level, or on an international level, kindness and real human feeling are very, very important.. Now the opposite! If we practise angerit will lead to violenceThe ultimate result of violence is a negative oneAgain now, everybody speaks of world peaceYes, we need world peace..! World peace is extremely importantBut how do we achieve a real, lasting world peace? Through documents it is very difficult to achieveThrough anger? If we are full of hatred full of anger, withinhow can we achieve world peace? On the other hand, with compassion with kindnesswith a real genuine sense of brotherhood and sisterhoodwith this motivation there is a great possibility of achieving real, lasting peace in the world Also we constantly fear nuclear warThat is very rightLast year I visited Japan for the third timeand this time I had the opportunity to visit HiroshimaAlthough I knew the story of the atomic tragedywhen I physically visited the very placesaw the museum and the ruins of one damaged houseand heard the story, not from a third person but from one of the actual original people who suffered that tragedythen I felt very sadAt that moment I was more than ever convinced that anger cannot be destroyed by angerFor exampleyou seefire cannot be destroyed by fireSimilarly, the internal firethe fire of angercannot be destroyed by the fire of anger itselfSo, the real control of the nuclear armament, or the disarmamentall these talks going onon a diplomatic level, or on a political levelare very goodBut if while these talks are going onunderneath there are suspicionsthreatshatredangercompetition with bad motivationthen it will be very difficult to achieve anythingThe other party will be just as clever as youYou are trying to fool the other people, but the other people are also trying to fool you So, againin these areas too, you need good diplomacy, but at the same time you have to have real human feelingRespect even your enemy! You must show respect to your enemy The enemy is your real teacherfrom the enemy you can learn patienceyou can learn many marvellous thingsOf coursekindness in superficial action may sometimes take different forms.. You might sometimes need to take strong or rough action, but deep down you must maintain your kindness So nowin many fieldsin world politicsin the world's economic difficultiesin many fields ultimately our human feeling is very, very importantThis is what I believe Now, the talks are going onthe dialogue between South and NorthThat is marvellous Very goodBut now, you seeall these excellent programmes can actually come to fruition if we pursue them with an attitude of kindnessSo thereforeon an international level, or on a national levelkindness is the key Human society is such that we have to rely on each otheron our fellow men..Without other peoplewithout fellow menone single human being on his own cannot surviveSo, wg have to relywhether we like it or notwe have to rely on othersIf you are reasonable, sinc-e your survival depends on others, you must respect othersyou must show kindness to others Now if we meditatehere is a short meditation we can try: imagine yourself as a neutral person.. as a third personVisualise thatOn your right hand side, you visualise yourself as a selfish individual without any consideration for other people's suffering and only thinking of your own selfish endsVisualise that on one sideThen on your left you visualise ten, twenty, thirty poor peopleneedy peopleImagining yourself taking the part of the third personnow think: Which is more importantThis one single selfish person on my rightor these needy, poor people who are in the majority, on my leftWhich is more important,this one single person is more important..? Or is the greater number of people more important? Then your clear consciousness will tell you that the majority is more important, because it constitutes a larger numberThough on the right side is a human beingyet it is just single Now, if you are 'wise selfish'you will join the side of the majority rather than that of the single personLike this, you seethrough imaginationpractising like thisday and nightand day by day you will develop a different kind of feeling towards other people.. This is something that is very beneficial in our daily livesI am not talking about religion, but about our everyday lifewhere a practice like this is extremely important and extremely useful So, this is what I usually speak aboutDo you agree? I think, half an hour has passedLater on the question and answer may be more interesting.. I do not know, you see, what your main interest isSo, when I receive the written questions, then I will know what your point of interest isand I will answer..

Now, the conclusion.. For the reasons I mentioned before, we must develop and train ourselves in the kind of thought that shares in other people's suffering.. We must arouse more concern for other people's welfare.. And we must grow less selfish.. If I were to say to completely destroy selfishness, that would be rather impracticable.. So, I shall say: Be less selfish.. Have more respect for other people's benefit.. Along with this goes a clear realisation of the oneness of all humanity.. We are one single person, but mentally we have to carry the responsibility of all mankind.. Usually I call this our'Universal Responsibility'.. We need this sort of attitude.. this kind of thinking.. This is my usual feeling.. Sometimes I tell people that my religion is very simple.. My religion is kindness.. This message is simple.. yet, it is very powerful and very, very useful..! Thank you very much..

APPLAUSE