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Dalai
Lama Preached Peace in Central Park
From The World Journal
September 22, 2003
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama prayed for those killed
in Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks during his speech at Central Park
on Sept. 21. He also emphasized war and violence could not resolve
problems and called on people to build trust, make compromise and
pursue a happy and peaceful life through non-violence, compassion
and love.
The Dalai Lama’s speech at Central Park at noon
yesterday drew tens of thousands of listeners. Among them were
Tibetan civilians
and lamas in traditional costumes, who had come from all over the
world. There were also young students as well as parents with their
children. When the Dalai Lama appeared and greeted the audience
with his palms pressed with each other, he was given a prolonged
standing ovation.
The Dalai Lama emphasized the importance of peace
and compassion. “Peace
is the expression of kindness,” he said. He pointed out the
key to a happy and peaceful life lies in kindness and love, and
that only compassion can help reduce hatred and suspicion. “But
the problem is that people do not emphasize forgiveness or compassion,” he
said.
He said it does not matter whether a person is religious,
and that the most important is to have compassion. He acclaimed
the way
New Yorkers behaved during the blackout in April. “People
helped each other out in streets. New Yorkers have become more
compassionate, caring and spiritual minded,” he said.
The
Dalai Lama called on people to resolve issues through non-violent
means. “War is legalized violence,” he said. He pointed
out man must reduce hatred and suspicion, build trust and care
through compassion and love and, through peaceful means, prevent
more violence and terror attacks from happening again. He called
on people to respect each other’s interests and make compromise
to pursue a happy and peaceful life.
The Dalai Lama also commented
on Sept. 11 terror attacks. He suggested people respecting and
mourning the victims, sympathizing their
families and accepting the facts. He warned people against hatred
and vengeance. He then completed his speech by reading aloud a
Tibetan poet in a pray for the lost during the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mrs.
Chen from Wisconsin arrived at New York on Sept. 17 to attend the
Dalai Lama’s preaches. Having studied the Tibetan Buddhism
for seven years, she said had learned how to get over worries and
adversity. She said she also learned to be optimistic, treasure
lives and understand the truth of sequential relations between
the cause and the result. “I was even more moved by the Dalai
Lama’s compassion after listening to his speech,” she
said.
Miss Hu, who has been living in New York for more than 30
years, said passionately she felt relieved, peaceful and happy
after listening
to the speech. “The love and forgiveness the Dalai Lama mentioned
is what we need the most,” she said.
Tibetan compatriot Lobsang
Nylosang came with his family of three. They migrated to Canada
fleeing political prosecution 31 years
ago and drove to New York yesterday to attend the speech. “His
words are always touching. He has taught us to have compassion
and live with it,” he said. His families said they hoped
more people would carry out the Dalai Lama’s conceptions,
and that the issue of Tibet could be resolved peacefully. “We
hope our compatriots back home will no longer suffer, and that
we will return to our homeland as soon as possible,” they
said.
This is the Dalai Lama’s fifth visit to the United States,
which was arranged by movie star Richard Gere. This was his third
tour to New York. He last made a speech at Central Park in 1999.
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Translated from Chinese by Shasha Dai
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