Tibetan Buddhism and Our Daily Lives
Speech at Renmin University of China
(March 17, 2011, evening)
Good evening to all teachers and students. I am very pleased to be here today to discuss “Tibetan Buddhism and Our Daily Lives,” together with teachers and students from the Department of Religion at Renmin University of China.
I) Outlook on Life in Tibetan Buddhism
So-called Tibetan Buddhism is a Buddhist lineage formed in the Land of Snows after Shakyamuni Buddha”s Buddhadharma was transmitted to the Tibetan area. In the entire Tibetan area, Tibetan Buddhism is the mainstream thinking of Tibetan culture. It has been integrated into the philosophy, sociology, anthropology, ethics, religion, medicine, life sciences, and every other field in the Tibetan area. Like the important role of Confucian ideology for the people living between the Western Han Dynasty and Qing Dynasty; in the same manner, Tibetan Buddhism has become inseparable from the lives of Tibetans.
Some time ago, I attended a Buddhist seminar with more than 350 students and numerous teachers from various famous universities in Tibetan area and other nearby areas. Those universities included Southwest University for Nationalities, Northwest University for Nationalities, Qinghai Normal University, Sichuan Normal University, and Sichuan University for Nationalities. We spent seven days discussing in detail the philosophy of Buddhism and the most important contemporary issues. During this process, I was gratified to learn that despite the widespread materialistic and money-worshipping phenomena in today”s society, many Tibetan university students still uphold a decent philosophy of life and values.
Regarding their philosophy of life, 99% of Tibetan university students maintain the concept that “wholesome activities bring happiness, unwholesome activities bring sufferings.” They pray to Chenrezig and understand some Buddhist principles from their childhood on. Having grown up, they attend various institutions of higher learning to study, and they continue to maintain their good values. In their daily lives, they naturally show their compassion, even at the sight of a little ant, and they strive to protect its life.
Regarding the philosophy of values, the purpose of life for these university students is not about pursuing money. As we all know, many university students from the Han area begin to plan their life during their freshman year: “After I graduate, how can I get a house
How can I get a car
What do I want my family and career to be
” and so on. They equate success with money, believing that with wealth, life will be splendid, and conversely, that without wealth, they are useless. They have a particularly strong craving for money.
On the other hand, even though, due to the influence of recent economic developments, many Tibetan students have also undergone some changes, what they desire most is certainly not money and external material wellbeing. What do they long for then
They want to inherit and promote their valuable Tibetan culture. At the same time, they also attach great importance to their own inner values of compassion, wisdom, contentment, and a culture of less desire.
As such, from the Tibetan intellectuals I have met, I have found that they do not completely entrust their happiness to material wellbeing. A considerable number of them believe that happiness should be sought within the mind. Tibetan Buddhism has played an essential role in this regard.
II) The Benefits that Tibetan Buddhism can Bring to Humankind
1) Sophisticated Internal Science
What is the fundamental basis of the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism, that is, the doctrine that Shakyamuni Buddha advocates
It is: “Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one”s mind, tha…
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