His Holiness Speaks of Ethics on His Visit to Shimla and Delhi

By Mary Trewartha / March 30, 2014;

His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Shimla from March 18-19 and then continued on to Delhi where he gave a series of short teachings.

A traditional reception welcoming His Holiness to the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla
Photo: Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

In Shimla His Holiness visited Jonang monastery and then inaugurated a temple at Dorje Drak monastery, following this with a teaching at the Central School for Tibetans. He then spoke at the convocation of Himachal Pradesh University where he was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree by Governor Urmila Singh. His Holiness and the Governor awarded 123 gold medals and certificates, and 194 doctorate degrees to meritorious students during the ceremony.

His Holiness then paid a visit to Dorjee Drak monastery where he was received by the monastery’s spiritual head His Eminence Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, who is the head of Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness later consecrated a newly-built assembly hall at the monastery.

On March 20 he travelled to New Delhi where he gave a talk “Success, Ethics and Happiness” at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, and inaugurated the Aung San Suu Kyi Centre for Peace and the Dr Bharat Ram Academic Complex. During his address, His Holiness said: “I am a messenger of ancient Indian thought and tradition of non-violence and compassion. India is a living example of religious harmony and secular ethics. The Indian Constitution is based on secularism. However, corruption in a religious country like India is a big contradiction.”

The following day His Holiness met students, teachers and principals from 13 Delhi schools to discuss “Ethics and Compassion for Young Minds”. He said that that young people have the opportunity to create a more peaceful world built on compassion rather than fear. He advised that if they acted honestly, truthfully and transparently they would win trust and friendship.

On his final day of his trip, at the Foundation for Universal Responsibility in New Delhi he gave a Trisamayavyuharaja empowerment. Speaking to the gathering he said “I usually describe myself as just a Buddhist monk and as a human being, one of the 7 billion alive today. There are no differences between us; emotionally, physically and mentally we are all the same. We all want to lead a happy life. In order to do that we need to develop peace of mind, this in turn requires knowledge of the mind and emotions.”