Dalai Lama Millennial Message

Official transcript of the message

Here is my transcription from the cassette recording ...

[There was an intro by Deepak Chopra which I may also type up later ... I like the way he describes the Dalai Lama. Deepak says if you discuss philosophy with him, he will nod his head, then say, "That's interesting ... but how do we use it (to ease our suffering and the suffering of others)" ... While they were waiting for the Dalai to begin, Deepak also gave a bit of a history of Vedic knowledge and Buddhism.]

(The sound quality wasn't crash-hot as they were taking their audio from a monitor and then transmitted via the web to my speakers and onto a cheap tape recorder)

So ... don't take this as a "gospel" record of what was said - it's as good as I can come up with under the circumstances ...I have put { } brackets around anything I had a doubt about or where I could not quite determine what was bein said ...

And since it was not a "rehearsed" speech like a politician might deliver, there were many sections where The Dalai Lama was searching for just the right words, which would explain some of my difficulties in transcribing it ...

(I suppose one could see this as a good thing, as it leaves it up to the individual to fill in the blanks for themselves.)

Anyway, here goes ...

"The new Millennium in itself will be nothing special. As we enter into the new Millennium, things will be the same - there will be nothing unusual. Many people asked what are my feelings about the new Millennium, sometimes I told them 'Oh ... the 31st night of the previous century ... we should not sleep ... just wait, wait, wait for the NEW Millennium ... then the sun comes ... think just for a moment, nothing unusual ... then go to sleep.' [laughter in background]

Now in India, nothing special, quite cold here and I'm just worrying about tomorrow's flight to Delhi and whether that flight can take this or not - that's my most worry today . [more laughter] ... so nothing special ...

So ... {unclear} ... nobody can stop the movement of the time. That is out of our control. But then one thing is quite certain ... {unclear} ... that is whether time is utilised in constructive or destructive way or just away. That's up to us. So ... people who are now going into a new millennium - this new century can be happy one or miserable. That's entirely up to us. So, if we're really looking forward to this new century being a happy one then we must work for it. We must work hard for it. ... {unclear} ... hope and determination Not just through prayer but through action. We can change these negative things, unhappy situations, ... {unclear} ...

However, if we really want the next millennium to be happier, more peaceful and more harmonious for humankind, we have to make the effort to make it so. It is in our hands but especially the hands of the younger generation. I think myself also ... mainly I think I have spent the most part of my life belongs to the previous century. So the previous century is the century of my generation. Anyway, the older people are e eventually going to say "bye-Bye" to the world. So the younger generation, you are the people who have the main responsibility to change the 21st Century. So ... as a human being ... with this unique, marvellous human intelligence ... the first thing is education, proper education ... then the equal determination or self-confidence and a terrific attitude. Withe these fundamental potentialities, then we can change situations.

So, the younger generation, please carry(?) study well ... meantime keep a warm heart. Now this is very ... most important I want to share with you ... {unclear} ... We have had many experiences during this century that have been extremely destructive ones. We must learn from these experiences. We need to approach the next millennium more wholistically, with more openess and more far-sightedness. If we are going to make the right kind of efforts to make the future of the world better, the following matters are of great importance:

1. {transmission glitch} ... well-being (?) ... we need to pay equal attention to developing peace of mind and thus taking care of the internal aspect of our being.

2. ... {unclear} ... education, which generally deals only with the academic accomplishments. We need to develop more altruism and a sense of caring and responsibility for others in the minds of the younger generation studying in various educational institutions. This can be done without necessarily involving religion. One could therefore call this "secular ethics". It would consist of basic human qualities such as kindness, compassion, sincerity and honesty.

3. This past century, in some ways, has been a century of wars and of bloodshed. It has seen a year-by-year increase in defence sending by most countries in the world. If we are to change this trend, we must seriously consider the concept of non-violence which is the physical expression of compassion. If one is to make non-violence a reality, we must first work on internal disarmament. And then proceed to work on external disarmament. By internal disarmament, I mean ridding ourselves of all the negative emotions that result in violence. This form of disarmament will also have to be done gradually ... step-by-step. We must work on the total abolishment of nuclear weapons and gradually work up to total de-militarisation throughout the world. I the process of doing this, we also need to work towards stopping the arms trade which is still very widely practiced because it is so lucrative. When we do all these things, we can then hope to see in the next millennium, a year by year decrease in {transmission glitch} ... of the various nations and a gradual working towards de-militarisation.

Human problems will of course always remain. I believe one of the sources of trouble is human intelligence. Because of human intelligence, we always find some different ideas, different ideologies and also the limited desire ... or unlimited desire, sorry my mistake [laughs] ... unlimited desire ... so there are conflicts or divisions which happen. So, therefore, for as long as human beings have been living on this small blue planet, some form of problem is always there. If we pray, or express our hope for a world without problems, that I think is hypocrisy. That's not realistic. So problems always remain there. {unclear - sounds like "How do we find a method to deal with the problem without violence?"} ... That's very important. So ... human problems will of course always remain ... but the way to resolve them should be through dialogue and discussion.

In fact, I feel the concept of war is very much based on the concept of "We" and "They", my interest, their interest, ... something totally separate, unrelated under those circumstances, so the concept of war is 100% victory for our side and 100% defeat of others, so-called "enemy". Now, today, reality is not THAT. My interests very much rest with other's interests. Other's interests live with my interests. So that's the reality. So, therefore, under those circumstances, acccording to that reality, the destruction of your neighbour, even if you call him "enemy" ... the destruction of your enemy is actually the destruction of yourself. Under those circumstances, the concept of war, the concept of one side's victory, one side's 100% victory, one side's 100% defeat is outdated.

[laughs as he confers with his interpreter or someone nearby]

The next century should be a century of dialogue and discussion rather than one of war and bloodshed.

4. We need to address the issue of the gap between the rich and poor, both globally and nationally. This inequality, which sees some sections of the human community having an abundance while other sections are hungry or even dying of starvation is not only morally wrong but also {unclear} ... source of problems. Her I want to make a small suggestion, if you agree ... I think the first week of this new century, those middle class people and certainly those rich people, rich families ... I think ONE day should have just ONE meal - some form of "fast". So, you see, that could be a reminder that while we are enjoying meals without any difficulties, there are millions of people who ... with just one meal ... some even WITHOUT that ... {unclear - sounds like "do this on an individual basis if they agree"} ... as a reminder take some kind of fasting - just one meal.

5. Equally important is the issue of freedom. As long as there is NO freedom in many parts of the world, there can be no real peace and in a sense no real freedom for the rest of the world. For the sake of our future generations, we need to take care of our {unclear} and our environment. Environmental damage is often gradual and not easily apparent and by the time we become aware of it, it is generally too late. Many of the major rivers flowing into many parts of South East Asia originate from the Tibetan plateau. It will not be out of place to mention here the crucial importance of taking care of the environment in THAT area.

6. One of the greatest challenges today is the population explosion. Unless we are able to tackle this issue effectively, we will be confronted with problem of natural resources being inadequate for all the human beings on this earth. We need to seriously look into these matters which concern us all if we are to look forward to the future with some hope.

Lastly, I want to share one of my fundamental beliefs. That is, in {sight?} of many difficulties ... in sight {or is it "spite"?} in some cases, horrible or hopeless appearances, we should not lose our determination. That is very, very important. To keep optimism. So that, eventually, we can overcome all these painful experiences or these troubles. Right from the beginning, if we begin with hopelessness or discourage ... then even small things which we can easily achieve .. then ... even that we can never achieve. Therefore, it is very important to keep self-confidence and determination. For that, a {terrific? or tranquil? or something else?} mind is the most effective element in order to keep determination. So, whether believer or non-believer, please try to keep warm heart inside. Then ... you, yourself will be a happier person and through that, your family will be happier and through that a happier, more peaceful community can develop. According to my experience, according to my philosophical view, in order to create happy humanity, happy world and also a safer world for millions of animals, birds, other sentient beings ... if we human beings with the help of human intelligence, with the help of a wiser perspective ... please keep a warm heart, compassionate heart inside.

Thankyou very much

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