World religions. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 28 стр.

      Question: Three years ago, you predicted that the next hundred years              while I’m alive or just after my death, then I am obviously the last Dalai Lama.
would be a century of peace, hope and justice. Since then, there have been mas-         But if my death comes in the next one or two years, then most probably the Ti-
sacres in Rwanda and Burundi, the Northern Irish peace discussions have been            betan people will want to have another incarnation. Of that I’m quite certain. Of
blown apart and the Chinese have kidnapped the young boy you designated to              course, there is the possibility that Tibetans become insignificant in our land
be the Panchen Lama2. Are you still optimistic about the future?                        and all decisions are made by the Chinese. It is possible and very sad.
      Dalai Lama: Oh, yes. Of course. A handful of shortsighted people have                  Question: Are you concerned that you might have a violent death?
always existed. But overall, their day is over because the public’s attitude to-             Dalai Lama: It is possible, I don’t know. Airplanes trouble me. Dying in
wards war and violence has become much healthier than at any time in history.           the ocean. And ending up in the stomach of a shark.
People used to be much more jingoistic3 and nationalistic compared with the                  Question: One hundred years from now, what would you like to be re-
way they are now.                                                                       membered for?
      Recently I was talking with the English Queen Mother. She is 96, and I                 Dalai Lama: As a Buddhist practitioner, I have no interest in that. So long
asked her, “What changes have you seen in your lifetime?” – She answered,               as I am alive, my time and my life must be utilized properly. Then after my
“When I was young, we had not much concern about the outside world. Now                 death, I don’t care how people remember me.
people have a great concern about what is happening all over the world”. This                Question: Is it true that you like to go shopping when you travel?
is a very positive change.                                                                   Dalai Lama: I like it. I’m a human being. I think human beings have a lot
      So I believe that due to the revolution in information, generally speaking,       of curiosity. I go to Los Angeles; sometimes I shop for myself. Shoes . . . small
any leader, if he tried to mobilize the whole nation for war, would find it im-         electronic equipment. . . car food. I go to shopping malls just like they were
possible. In previous times, it was quite possible. Well, small – scale wars, per-      museums.
haps they can still do. Bur large scale – wars, I think, are nor likely. I do believe        Question: Many people get a sense of God by observing nature. What will
that in the next century we have to seriously think about putting a complete stop       religions be like in a hundred years if there is little nature left on earth?
to the arms trade.                                                                           Dalai Lama: The world itself is nature. The sun, the moon, they are nature.
      Question: Buddhism has become quire popular in the West. Could you see            Even if there were no more animals, nature would still be here. For those relig-
a future American President who is a practicing Buddhist?                               ions that believe in a creator, they would have to find reasons to explain why
      Dalai Lama: No, I think someone in the Judeo-Christian tradition would            our beautiful blue planet became a desert.
be better. I prefer that people in Western countries follow their own traditions. I          If you ask me whether it’s good or bad, of course it’s bad. But in the Bud-
have no desire to propagate my religious beliefs.                                       dhist tradition, something like that would not change our attitude. We believe
      Question: A hundred years in the future, what will be the role of women in        the whole world will come and disappear, come and disappear – so eventually
religion?                                                                               the world becomes desert and even the ocean dries up. But then again, another
      Dalai Lama: I think improved. Because the women want it.                          new world is reborn. It’s endless.
      Question: Can you see a situation where there might be a woman as Pope,
a woman as Archbishop of Canterbury, a woman as Dalai Lama?                                  On each of the main themes of this reading, give a few sentences summa-
      Dalai Lama: In the Buddhist world, there’s not much of a problem. Some            rizing the Dalai Lama’s point of view:
of the Lamas of high reincarnation are women.                                                – What does the Dalai Lama say about his philosophy of death?
      Question: Is it possible that you, the 14rh Dalai Lama, might be the last              – What does the Dalai Lama say about his attitude toward woman?
Dalai Lama?                                                                                  – What does he say about the role of the Dalai Lama in the war?
      Dalai Lama: It is possible. Not as a result of external force, though. If the          – What does he say about the future of the earth?
majority of the Tibetan people feel that the Dalai Lama institution is no longer
relevant, then the institution will automatically cease. Now, if that happens
   2
     Panchen Lama: chief spiritual adviser to the Dalai Lama.
   3
     Jingoism: extreme nationalism, usually marked by an aggressive, warlike atti-
   tude toward other countries.
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