Three Main Commitments in Life
His Holiness has three main commitments in life.
However, His Holiness will carry on with the first two commitments till his last breathe.
Firstly, on the level of a human being, His Holiness’ first
commitment is the promotion of human values such as compassion,
forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline. All human
beings are the same. We all want happiness and do not want suffering.
Even people who do not believe in religion recognize the importance of
these human values in making their life happier. His Holiness refers
to these human values as secular ethics. He remains committed to talk
about the importance of these human values and share them with everyone
he meets.
Secondly, on the level of a religious practitioner, His
Holiness’ second commitment is the promotion of religious harmony and
understanding among the world’s major religious traditions. Despite
philosophical differences, all major world religions have the same
potential to create good human beings. It is therefore important for
all religious traditions to respect one another and recognize the value
of each other’s respective traditions. As far as one truth, one
religion is concerned, this is relevant on an individual level.
However, for the community at large, several truths, several religions
are necessary.
Thirdly, His Holiness is a Tibetan and carries the name of the
‘Dalai Lama’. Tibetans place their trust in him. Therefore, his third
commitment is to the Tibetan issue. His Holiness’ has a responsibility
to act as the free spokesperson of the Tibetans in their struggle for
justice. As far as this third commitment is concerned, it will cease
to exist once a mutually beneficial solution is reached between the
Tibetans and Chinese.
However, His Holiness will carry on with the first two commitments till his last breathe.
