Renuka Singh - Boundless as the Sky: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Happiness, Faith and Love

BUDDHISM HAS DIRECTED THE path of His Holiness the Dalai Lamas developmentboth inner and outerand remains a guide for humanitys course of becoming. The lectures compiled in this collection do not deal directly with the goal of enlightenment or Buddhahood. Rather, they highlight universal themes of compassion; non-violence and peace; secular ethics; a healthy body, mind, individual and society; and the human potential for happiness through ones inner realizations. People the world over appear ready to receive the wisdom emanating from and about Buddhism that directly protects us from our sufferings.

As mentioned in the lectures, we all have the capacity to get rid of intellectual conceptions and negative emotions in order to avoid experiencing worldly turbulence and suffering in our lives. However, this does not imply that we cannot or should not try to reach full Enlightenment, self-liberation from samsaric sufferings or, at least, to achieve a peaceful state of mind.

These lectures also symbolize the spiritual deprivation of people from all parts of the world, as is evident in the scope of invitations His Holiness receives from various countries, universities and organizations. Moreover, His Holiness often reiterates that human beings, irrespective of whether they are atheists or believers, remain at the core of human deliverance with their unique historical potential.

At any given moment, human beings can either elevate themselves to the state of liberation or descend into the quagmire of demoniac existence. The responsibility to transform their body, speech and mind in various cultural settings ultimately lies with individuals. In other words, thoughts and actions acquire a kind of non-contradictoriness and transport one to become truly humane.

The lectures reveal not only how human beings act but how, through their daily effort and perseverance, they can claim their uniqueness to conduct themselves in a wholesome manner, befitting their inherent nature, and become the awakened one, to preserve humanity. It is high time that humanity expels utopian designs and learns to face facts by strengthening the individuals integrity. One is obliged, hence, to live humanely which, perhaps, will become the root of equality. Also, if we do not cultivate compassion and inner peace, even world peace wont bring us our inner equilibrium.

Let us conclude with the example of Richard More from Ireland who works very closely with His Holiness in improving the lives of others. His work with children in crossfire or conflict situations and his remarkable life story is indeed inspirational. He lost his eyesight in 1972 because of being shot by a rubber bullet. Richard had the magnanimity to invite and extend a warm welcome to the soldier who blinded him to His Holinesss talk at the University of Limerick in 2011. His Holinesss message of compassion and forgiveness resonated very deeply in Richards act of not harbouring any anger or bitterness towards Charles, the soldier responsible for his condition. Incidentally, both Richard and Charles have built up deep friendships with His Holiness now.

Similarly, through these lectures followed by questions and answers, many people will be able to relate to His Holiness and his insightful wisdom with greater ease.

Renuka Singh
2013

Editors Note

I ALWAYS SPEAK IN an informal way as it complements my broken English, says His Holiness in one of the speeches in this volume. To keep alive his voice and its particular flavour, we have left the speeches largely unchanged.

I

THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS

1

The Art of Happiness

New Delhi, 2011

GETTING OLDER, SOMETIMES MY eyes give me some problems, so very strong light is not good. And usually I give my talks without notes, so light is not necessary. So dear brothers and sisters, indeed I am very happy having this opportunity to talk, or rather lecture, for Penguin. You organized this opportunity; thank you very much. When I give a talk to people, I always have the feeling we are the same human beingmentally, emotionally, physically. And more importantly, everyone wants a happy life. I think nobody, early in the morning, as soon as they wake up, wishes for more trouble in the day. Nobody wants trouble. However, many troubles are essentially our own creation. Why? Here is the big contradiction.