Nobel Peace Prize winner Tenzin Gyatso, XNUMXth Dalai Lama of Tibet
On International Human Rights Day, we celebrate the 35nd anniversary (10 December 1989 - 10 December 2023) of the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his non-violent struggle on behalf of the Tibetan people.
When the Nobel Committee chose the Dalai Lama, it stressed that it based its Buddhist philosophy of peace on respect for all living beings and on the idea of a universal responsibility that embraces both man and nature. It weighed heavily in the Tibetan leader's favor that he had shown a willingness to compromise and seek reconciliation despite the brutal violations.
“The awareness that we are all basically the same human beings, seeking happiness and trying to avoid suffering, is very helpful in developing a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood; a warm feeling of love and compassion for others. This, in turn, is essential if we are to survive in this ever smaller world we live in. Because if each of us selfishly pursues only what he believes is in our best interest, without worrying about the needs of others, we not only end up harming others but also ourselves. This fact has become very clear over the course of this century. We know that conducting a nuclear war today, for example, would be a form of suicide; or that by polluting the air or the oceans, for some short-term benefit, we are destroying the very basis of our survival. As interdependent, therefore, we are truly a global family today. What happens in one part of the world can affect us all. "
A passage from the speech that His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, held during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony (December 10, 1989).
The full speech is here: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1989/lama/facts/
We dedicate our prayers to the long life of His Holiness and to all those who work, without any personal interest, for world peace.