By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 17: The exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama while responding to a question by noted author Pico Iyer said, “The concept of warfare is related to feudal system,” and therefore “gone” and outdated. The foremost Buddhist figure was engaged in a virtual conversation with Iyer as part of the Jaipur Literature Festival’s Brave New World series on Wednesday from his residence here.
The Dalai Lama was seen saying, “In the past, feudal system, king, queen, sometimes even religious leader (who) are thinking and concerned about their own power. So then very strong concept of ‘we’ and ‘they’, then conflict, killing. So I feel, warfare, killing is related with feudal system. So that (is) gone. Now democratic world.”
He added that given a choice to individual soldiers, whether they would want to sacrifice their lives for the country or do they want peace, they may choose the latter. The soldiers acting under order and not their own volition, is feudal system, the octogenarian Tibetan leader said.
As an alternative to confrontations brought by secondary differences such as nationality and religion, the world should concede to facts that factors such as economy and climate change does not recognise national boundaries, and that working together and symbiotically can lead to a more peaceful world.
The soon-to-be 85-year-old who has devolved political authority of Tibet to an elected leadership did not make any reference to the ongoing Indo-China LAC tension that has resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers on Monday night. In his stead, the President of the exile Tibetan government, known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration, Dr. Lobsang Sangay condemned the deaths of the Indian soldiers and called the deaths “uncalled for” while urged both sides to resolve the issue non-violently.
4 Responses
at the end of the kali yuga , it is funny to hear ” The concept of warfare is related to feudal system ” we are born at the end of kali yuga , it is our karma …more the end of the manvantara approach , degenenerated time will become more chaotic.. Lama Zopa Rinpoché told us on youtube teaching just 2 month ago ” there is going to be a world famine and then a war involving all nations ” everyone can dream big , the fact is all the people in the world and all bouddhist sangha east to west will suffer a lot like in Tibet now and more eveywhere in futur..Because the time we are all born is the time of lies and injustice .You can pray the next Buddha to arise soons as possible but he will manifest is compassion only when the time will be ready…2070 !!
Now the Han Chinese under the lead of the CCP are trying to do what they allways did, occupying other countrys. Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang were taken over completely. Now these populations have no rights and are treated like slaves, even put into concentration camps. Its time now people around the world race their hands angainst China. India ist strong and in the name of a free and democratic world they should defend the border without giving 1 inch to the Chinese. Every Indian soldier who dies in this conflict dies for what India has missed in the past which is preserving Tibet from being taken over by the Chinese. Now India is paying for it.
Read what Lee Kuan Yew has written about foreign occupiers. Ask inhabitants of former colonies as well. The Chinese are not the only people complicit in this. That may be something most people of Indian origin are well aware of.
The definition of “feudal” is in flux. In the 19th and 20th century is more about land owners and the serfs who worked the land. Contemplate what the 21st century does in terms of “us” and “them”, where the wars have been and what has been achieved as a result. The fight in Tibet is about natural resources. But it certainly isn’t the only location where that is happening. Ask East Timor how their off-shore oil rights were commandeered by Australia. As a matter of fact, also ask Burma.