BODH GAYA – World peace can be attained only through Lord Buddha’s path of “ahimsa”, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Sunday.
“Lord Buddha’s preaching of ahimsa (non-violence) is relevant today as several countries have developed weapons of mass destruction. By pressing a button, half of the world population can be destroyed within no time,” he said delivering a sermon at the inaugural session of the nine-day Kalchakra puja here.
With a clarion call to nations to show restraint in the use of force, the Dalai Lama said widespread violence was gripping the world.
Materialism was the root cause behind ever-increasing sorrow of people which could be overcome by pursuing the path of Buddha, he said.
Referring to the 37 teachings of Boddhisatva, the Dalai Lama said “accumulation of wealth leads to rivalry and anxiety… wealth even leads to conflict between father and son.”
Over 20,000 Buddhists from Vietnam, Tibet, China, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and other nations reportedly participated in the puja.