Dalai Lama wants 21st century be the century of compassion and peace

Bhubaneswar, November 21, 2017: The Dalai Lama on Tuesday called
for making this century a century of compassion and peace.

“Previous century was marred by violence. There were world
wars in which atom bombs were also used. Brains of brilliant scientists were
utilised for destruction. Let the 21st century be the century of compassion and
peace,” said the Dalai Lama while addressing an audience of 27,000 indigenous
students of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) here.

Maintaining that peace does not come from outside; rather, it
comes from inside, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner said, “We need to destroy
our anger, aggression and jealousy. Anger and violence always bring disaster
and create a fearful atmosphere. World peace can be achieved only by inner
peace.”

The KISS Humanitarian Award 2017 was conferred on Tibetan
spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences
(KISS) here on Tuesday. KIIT & KISS president Saswati Bal and founder Prof
Achyuta Samanta presented the award before an audience of 27,000 indigenous
students of the institute and a host of dignitaries.

The award citation recognised his “concern for the oppressed
human beings from all over the world in need of compassion”.

“Past is past, but future is in our hand. Your generation is
the custodian of the 21st century. You are the people who can create a new
shape of future. You have the opportunity and responsibility to create a new
world,” he told the students.

On the role of education, he stated, “Existing modern
education is inadequate as it focusses on material value and fame. Secular
education should include moral education. Research is now going on to figure
out how best to do it.” He suggested the KISS to carry out experiments to
include moral education.

“India is the most populated democratic country and an
ancient civilisation. This country has produced most brilliant people,
including Buddhist masters. Buddhism has come from India. Modern world lacks
moral principles and knowledge to tackle our destructive emotions. Ancient
Indian psychology was very advanced and is still very relevant to deal with
this problem,” he told the students. 

Earlier in his award presentation speech, Prof Samanta said
the literal meaning of the title Dalai Lama is ‘ocean monk’ and he is regarded
as “the ocean of compassion.” The Dalai Lamas are believed to be the
manifestations of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, he informed.

The Dalai Lama is the tenth annual KISS Humanitarian
laureate.

The Dalai Lama also delivered a talk in the ‘KIIT Knowledge
Tree’ Lecture Series at the KIIT University and addressed thousands of Tibetan
settlers from Chandragiri who had come to the KIIT to seek his blessings.