GUWAHATI, April 2 - Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama today said that though historically the Tibetan Buddhist were the disciples of the ancient Indian school of wisdom, they preserved the knowledge for thousand years better than the modern-day Indians.
In a public talk on �Ancient Indian knowledge in modern times� at the Gauhati University today, the spiritual leader said that he was a �messenger of the Indian culture� to the outer world and that India was the best example, where all the major religions of the world could live together.
�Staying here for the past 58 years, I am the longest guest of the Government of India,� he said.
The public talk was organised by the Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (KKHSOU) and Lawyers Book Stall (LBS), Panbazar, where the Dalai Lama also released the Assamese translation of his book My Land and My People � Memoirs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Translated into Assamese by Indrani Laskar, the book has been named Mor Desh Aru Mor Manuh � Punyatma Dalai Lamar Atmajivani.
The core of the message by the 14th Dalai Lama was about finding inner happiness and compassion to promote happiness in troubled times. �I am optimistic about a peaceful and non-violent world. I don�t know whether it would happen in my lifetime though,� he said stressing the role of awareness and education in promoting non-violence.
�Today, when the world is facing lots of crisis, violence and moral degradation, the knowledge of Indian wisdom about emotions can be very relevant. As far as knowledge of system of mind and emotions is concerned, western psychology looks like of Kindergarten level compared to India,� he said.
The spiritual guru also said that he considered himself as a son of India. �For the past few years, I have started calling myself a son of India. When a member of a Chinese media delegation asked me about it, I explained that every cell of my brain was filled with the Nalanda school of thoughts. My body has survived on the dal, chawal and chapatti of India,� he said.
Citing the reference of the teaching of Shantarakshita, the eminent scholar of Nalanda invited to Tibet by Emperor Trisong Detsen, he said that the Indian knowledge elaborates about constructive and destructive emotions and teaches us the virtues like karuna (compassion) and ahimsa (non-violence), key to a peaceful society.
KKHSOU Vice Chancellor Dr Hitesh Deka, proprietor of the LBS, Bhaskar Dutta Barua, GU Registrar Dr SK Nath and retired bureaucrat Jatin Hazarika were also present on the occasion.
