Our Only Home by Dalai Lama

Author:Dalai Lama
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Published: 2020-09-16T11:55:35+00:00

2. Ethics is more important than religion

Franz Alt: And you would vote Green if you lived in a Western democracy. Why?

Dalai Lama: Because they represent a similar nature-friendly philosophy as we Buddhists do. For over a thousand years, nature has been sacred to us Tibetans. On the high Himalayan plateau where we live, we try, in the spirit of Buddhism, to live in peace with nature, protected by our mountains, without violence and in compassion with all living beings. Nature is sacred to us. Nature is our true home. We humans come from nature. We can live without religion, but not without nature. Therefore, I say that environmental ethics are more important than religion. If we keep destroying nature as we are doing today, we will not survive.

This is a law of nature that we have to accept. Mankind will suffer terribly if we do not learn that: a clean environment is a human right like any other human rights. It is our responsibility toward all sentient beings to ensure that we leave to our children and grandchildren a world at least as intact as we found it when we were born. There are limits to what we are allowed to do, but no limits to our universal responsibility.

Franz Alt: What do you do yourself for the environment and for the climate?

Dalai Lama: On a personal and family level, too, we need to develop a much clearer awareness of our actions and their consequences, such as how we use water or dispose of our garbage, so that taking care of and limiting damage to the natural environment becomes an ordinary part of our daily lifestyle. That is the proper way, and it can only be achieved through education.

I switch off the light when I leave my room. I take a shower instead of a bath. I eat little meat. I encourage other people to do the same. We must think globally, but act locally. This should even apply when electing political leaders. Our voting patterns are also an ethical issue. We should all vote for the real environmentalists. Fortunately, especially young people today understand the connection between environmental politics and elections.

As someone born in Tibet, the rooftop of the world, where Asia’s great rivers start and the world’s highest peaks are to be found, I have loved nature since my childhood. I have made environmental conservation one of my life’s commitments and advocate protection of the environment wherever I go.

I honor my promise to Mr. Sunderlal Bahuguna, an Indian environmentalist, to speak about environment preservation. When I travel to the trans-Himalayan region from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh in India, I urge people there to plant trees to save their land from becoming barren in future. Trees make the landscape’s greenery and bring peace and happiness of mind in our day-to-day life.

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