>From Sex to Superconsciousness - http://www.truthbeknown.com
>
> The Dalai Lama's New Year Message 2000
>
> Many people seem to be excited about the new
> millennium, but the new millennium in itself will be
> nothing special. As we enter into the new millennium
> things will be the same; there will be nothing
> unusual. However, if we really want the next
> millennium to be happier, more peaceful and more
> harmonious for humankind we will have to make the
> effort to make it so. This is in our hands, but
> especially in the hands of the younger generation.
> We
> have had many experiences during this century -
> constructive as well as extremely destructive ones.
>
> We must learn from these experiences. We need to
> approach the next millennium more holistically, with
> more openness and farsightedness. If we are going to
> make the right kind of efforts to make the future of
> the world better, I believe the following matters
> are
> of great importance:
>
> 1. While engaging in material progress and taking
> care
> of physical well-being we need to pay equal
> attention
> to developing peace of mind and thus taking care of
> the internal aspect of our being.
>
> 2. Along with education, which generally deals only
> with academic accomplishments, we need to develop
> more
> altruism and a sense of caring and responsibility
> for
> others in the minds of the younger generation
> studying
> in various educational institutions. This can be
> done
> without necessarily involving religion. One could
> therefore call this 'secular ethics', as it in fact
> consists of basic human qualities such as kindness,
> compassion, sincerity and honesty.
>
> 3. This past century in some ways has been a century
> of war and bloodshed. It has seen a year by year
> increase in defense spending by most countries in
> the
> world. If we are to change this trend we must
> seriously consider the concept of non-violence,
> which
> is a physical expression of compassion. In order to
> make non-violence a reality we must first work on
> internal disarmament and then proceed to work on
> external disarmament. By internal disarmament I mean
> ridding ourselves of all the negative emotions that
> result in violence. External disarmament will also
> have to be done gradually, step by step. We must
> first
> work on the total abolishment of nuclear weapons and
> gradually work up to total demilitarisation
> throughout
> the world. In the process of doing this we also need
> to work towards stopping the arms trade, which is
> still very widely practiced because it is so
> lucrative. When we do all these things, we can then
> hope to see in the next millennium a year by year
> decrease in the military expenditure of the various
> nations and a gradual working towards
> demilitarisation. Human problems will, of course,
> always remain, but the way to resolve them should be
> through dialogue and discussion. The next century
> should be a century of dialogue and discussion
> rather
> than one of war and bloodshed.
>
> 4. We need to address the issue of the gap between
> the
> rich and the poor, both globally and nationally.
> This
> inequality, with some sections of the human
> community
> having abundance and others on the same planet going
> hungry or even dying of starvation, is not only
> morally wrong, but practically also a source of
> problems. Equally important is the issue of freedom.
> As long as there is no freedom in many parts of the
> world there can be no real peace and in a sense no
> real freedom for the rest of the world.
>
> 5. For the sake of our future generations, we need
> to
> take care of our earth and of our environment.
> Environmental damage is often gradual and not easily
> apparent and by the time we become aware of it, it
> is
> generally too late. Since most of the major rivers
> flowing into many parts of south-east Asia originate
> from the Tibetan plateau, it will not be out of
> place
> to mention here the crucial importance of taking
> care
> of the environment in that area.
>
> 6. Lastly, one of the greatest challenges today is
> the
> population explosion. Unless we are able to tackle
> this issue effectively we will be confronted with
> the
> problem of the natural resources being inadequate
> for
> all the human beings on this earth. We need to
> seriously look into these matters that concern us
> all
> if we are to look forward to the future with some
> hope.
>
>
> January 1, 2000
>
>
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