“Compassion and peace are the basic elements for the survival of humanity? said His Holiness the Dalai Lama Wednesday afternoon in Hiroshima city.

 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with fellow Nobel peace laureates Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Ms. Betty Williams at opening of the 2-day Hiroshima International Peace Summit in Hiroshima City in Japan.

Delivering the keynote speech on the theme Think of Our Future: with Compassion and Humanity at the 2-day Hiroshima International Peace Summit, the exiled Tibetan leader spoke on universal responsibility and its relevance to present day realities. He said the current realities of global interdependence and interconnectedness of global issues such as economic cooperation and environmental problems have virtually rendered the concept of national boundaries irrelevant. “Human life is more precious than man-made boundaries? said the Dalai Lama.

He said the secular ethics of compassion and peace were crucial to the happiness of the whole humanity irrespective of religious or racial identities.

He noted that a message of peace delivered from Hiroshima was significant as the place had actually experienced the deadly impacts of nuclear weapon. “Human violence is extremely dangerous if human intelligence and technological development are not put to good use,?he cautioned an audience of some 1200 people at Aster Plaza Grand Hall.

Fellow Nobel laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, one of the speakers at the summit, called the Dalai Lama “an extraordinary gift to humanity? Expressing his admiration for the Tibetan leader, Archbishop Tutu said even after being in exile for over five decades suffering the pain of loss and separation from his motherland, the Dalai Lama was not consumed by anger and hatred.

Ms. Betty Williams, the 1976 Nobel Peace laureate from Northern Ireland spoke on Compassion for Children at the summit.

Later in the evening, Archbishop Tutu and Ms. Betty Williams led an interfaith prayer ceremony at Hiroshima World Peace Cathedral where a group of Tibetan monks also offered prayers for world peace.

Prof. Kasuo Murakami, a life scientist from Tsukuba University, moderated the summit discussion, participated by the three Nobel peace laureates. The summit will continue till Thursday evening.