Peace

...serenity captured

(photo taken by Orange Tulip on her way to Calauit Island, Philippines)

There are people who have been criticising the Dalai Lama for various reasons. On the contrary, I admire him in some ways and most importantly, i find his profound thoughts enlightening. In a chaos world, where both natural calamities and man-made acts result to painful human sufferings, this Nobel Lecture on Peace by the Dalai Lama somehow makes sense. Here it is:

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.

True peace with oneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace. The other phenomena mentioned above are similarly interrelated. Thus, for example, we see that a clean environment, wealth or democracy mean little in the face of war, especially nuclear war, and that material development is not sufficient to ensure human happiness.

Material progress is of course important for human advancement. In Tibet, we paid much to little attention to technological and economic development, and today we realize that this was a mistake. At the same time, material development without spiritual development can also cause serious problems. In some countries too much attention is paid to external things and very little importance is given to inner development. I believe both are important and must be developed side by side so as to achieve a good balance between them. Tibetans are always described by foreign visitors as being a happy, jovial people. This is part of our national character, formed by cultural and religious values that stress the importance of mental peace through the generation of love and kindness to all other living sentient beings, both human and animal. Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquillity. In that state of mind you can deal with situations with calmness and reason, while keeping your inner happiness. This is very important. Without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because of circumstances.-HHDalai Lama,The Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1989
(http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_human_rights.html)

Not so long ago, in a world where happiness is usually equated with having achieved or acquired something, i have always argued that happiness is simply being content for who you are, where you are and who you are with. Yet i found out that still, outside circumstances and significant others, can still affect one's happiness. After several heart wrenching episodes in my life, i have realised that the road to inner peace resulting to inner happiness is simply being content-regardless.

May inner peace stay with me and you.