Meeting the Dalai Lama

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Posted by Karen Ngo on Oct 26, 2010 in Events | 1 comment

Meeting the Dalai Lama

“Nothing which we are to perceive in this world / equals the power of your intense fragility.”

- e.e. cummings

The 14th Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II

I had the opportunity to attend His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’s talk on “Human Approaches to World Peace” on Friday October 22nd, 2010 at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada. Regretfully, I came to the talk half an hour late, and disrupted an entire row of audience members while trying to get to my seat. Despite missing that half hour of the talk, it was still possible to pick up upon what the Dalai Lama had been talking about.

Before attending the talk, I often pondered various situations that seemed to be impossible. Is it really plausible that a civilized conversation between two individuals can prevent wars from occurring, or is that a naive thought to entertain? Is it childish to wonder whether a facilitated discussion between the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his assassin could have prevented World War I, and saved the lives of thousands of soldiers? Are the past failures of humanity so taboo, that to discuss them in a different light would be considered disregarding the gravity of the event?

The Dalai Lama made several impacting points that left the individual pondering them after leaving the talk. Not only were these points made in reference to international relations, but they were applicable at the interpersonal level. Wouldn’t conflicts between two people be easily resolved through peaceful discussion and discovering what the other person’s thoughts were? Human beings were not made to be mind readers, and often we spend a lot of our time making assumptions and living in fear. Sometimes we scare ourselves to the point where we bring out the tanks and guns to assuage our fear.

“Universal responsibility is feeling for other people’s suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realization that even our enemy is entirely motivated by the quest for happiness.”

- The Dalai Lama

From the points presented by the Dalai Lama, a civilized conversation between individuals can work wonders. A conversation between two people is the opportunity to understand different perspectives. The Dalai Lama even cheerfully mentioned that he would love to sit Osama Bin Laden down for a chat to understand his motivation and opinions. That in itself is very profound, as it seems that the world would be quicker to drop bombs and fire guns at the man – fighting terror with terror.

It would be naive to agree that every single dilemma faced in the world can easily be solved by a conversation between the two conflicting parties. However, it would not be naive to consider that peaceful approaches to situations are a start in effective conflict resolution. It is amazing to realize the power that can be channelled through humbleness, peacefulness, and compassion.

Karen Ngo

Hamilton, Canada

4th Year BHSc

Team 5: International Health

About the author

Karen Ngo Karen Ngo, 20, McMaster University, Ontario, CA (Team 5 Leader) - I would like to be an East Villagers Service Scholar Intern because I am interested in global health and social issues. Having studied Health Sciences throughout my undergraduate career, I learned about various global issues, and became interested in acquiring more knowledge and methods to approaching and tackling some of these issues. Through interacting with other service scholar interns and those working with East Villagers, it would be possible to develop a better understanding of these issues and potential solutions.

One Response to “Meeting the Dalai Lama”

  1. mr.--montra--trimek--pig--thailand says:
    February 16, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    love–and–friendship—cordiality

    reply

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