Worse still, religion has often been in service of the very sins of intolerance that its prophets have railed against. After millennia of being preached at by priests and prophets, humanity is still addicted to war we continue to lay waste to the planet’s fragile ecosystem we torture animals, repress ethnic minorities, and ignore the plight of the poor.
It is easy to sympathize with the Dalai Lama’s frustration. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.” But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. “All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. If the rights of religious minorities have been violated, the Prime Minister asserted, "I am unhappy about it, and we will investigate into it.Well, not exactly-here is what the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism actually told his four million friends on Facebook earlier this fall: He affirmed in the press conference that Bhutan "is a secular state" and his government "believes that cultural diversity is a heritage of our country." “As far as the government is concerned, we have yet to (hear of) serious violations of human rights by organs of the state,” he stated. However, in 2010, Jigmi Y Thinley, Bhutan's first democratically elected Prime Minister, stated in one of his first press conferences that “there is diversity in the cultural background in Bhutan, but our record (in this matter) has been quite good.” The country's other major religion, Hinduism, also faces discrimination. There are no Christian churches or burial places permitted in Bhutan. But he had no comment on what the Dalai Lama said during his recent talk.īhutanese authorities claim that most people being converted come from the lower rungs of society, and therefore it could be that they are being “manipulated” through “fear tactics or material gains.” This social reality leads to suspicion that Christians could be offering illicit incentives for conversion. Penjor, the Secretary of the Central Monk Body in Bhutan, stated one cannot go against the constitution. Just to the south in neighboring Bhutan, which has strong cultural and historical links with Tibet, especially in the area of religion, there is a national constitution that clearly opposes conversion by “coercion or inducement” (Article 7 clause 4) though freedom of religion is guaranteed.Īsked if he thought proselytism should be allowed in Buddhist Bhutan, Karma W. Seeing Tibetans' suffering and struggle, the Dalai Lama's concerns are perhaps quite different from many other opponents of conversions. Therefore, it could be said in support of the Dalai Lama’s comments that his disapproval of conversions is not the kind of intolerant ideology that Hindutva extremists in India, for example, espouse and promote. However according to Vishal, “It is perhaps his understanding of the role of religion at the collective, political and cultural levels that leads him to say what he does.” Last November, at Christ University in Bangalore, the Dalai Lama repeated that religious freedom should be protected, even as he spoke of the need to avoid conversions. Vishal Arora, a TMP board member and independent journalist based in Delhi, India, who has reported widely on a range of issues from religious fundamentalism to war in the South Asian region, said the Dalai Lama's remarks should be understood in its context.Īccording to Arora, Buddhism in Tibet is not only a religion that people practice privately but it is something that defines the region's distinct culture, a culture the Chinese smother through repression and intimidation. The Dalai Lama has, however, reiterated that religious freedom should be guaranteed to all. He made references to Australian missionary Graham Staines, burnt alive in his car with his two sons, and the ongoing violence and destruction in Orissa and Karnataka. The Dalai Lama added that the two parties in a conversion - the convert and the community abandoned by the convert - are at high risk of conflict. The Chinese see religion as the greatest hindrance in absorbing Tibet and have been waging a cultural war against it. This question of religious tolerance and behavior is one that hangs over the exiled leader's homeland constantly, since over 100 Tibetans have self-immolated during the last two years in graphic demonstrations of non-allegiance to the Chinese government.
Dalai lama religion series#
Xavier’s College, Mumbai, January 23 sparked a series of debates among critics. “I do not like conversions because they have a negative impact ,” said the Dalai Lama according to Asia News. The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of over 5 million Tibetan Buddhists, supports religious freedom but disapproves of proselytism.
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