A MESSAGE FROM THE DALAI LAMA

The Dalai Lama posted the text of a talk on world peace on his website this Christmas. Apparently it's a talk he gave some years ago — the references to the Soviet Union are a giveaway —but it's just as relevant today as it was then. It's not just the "Peace on Earth and good will toward all beings" message you get on greeting cards and in beer commercials. That's in there, of course, but there's more to it than that. I won't try to speak for the Dalai Lama — he does a remarkable job of that — but I can provide a link. Click here to read this message.

Some people think of Buddhist practice as an escape from the world and its problems. There's a focus on personal development, individual growth. Buddhists go on retreats and take vows of silence. And we try not to take ourselves or our opinions too seriously. After all, we might be wrong sometimes. And if we get too attached to our opinions, we'll lose that don't know mind, that beginner's spirit. And we'll stop learning.

But we all have to live in this world, and we have to do what we can to make it a better place. There's a bodhisattva vow that's recited in temples all over the world. It's a vow to live our lives only for others. "Beings are numberless, I vow to save them." Partly this is a vow to help all beings to attain enlightenment, a seemingly impossible task. But it also applies to everyday life. Our purpose is to enrich the lives of the people around us in any way we can. We try to lift people up in our day-to-day lives. And in this world, being a bodhisattva means we have to take an active part in the social and political aspects of life.

I have opinions. I'm very passionate about them. But the Dalai Lama points out that solving the problems we face isn't a matter of developing a better understanding of economics or a more advanced technology. He emphasizes a deeper understanding of our human nature and an awareness of our interconnections as human beings. It's a matter of personal development, carried out all over the world. If we can simply learn to be better people, we can live in peace.

And that's what Buddhist practice is all about.