Trong chuyến viếng thăm và hoằng pháp tại Nhật Bản vào ngày 16-11, Đức Dalai Lama đã đến thăm Viện công nghệ Chiba, ở Tsudanuma, Nhật Bản, nơi nghiên cứu chuyên sâu về khoa học công nghệ của Nhật Bản, cho ra đời nhiều sản phẩm khoa học, công nghệ thông minh cho thế giới. Tại đây, Đức Dalai Lama đã được nghe giới thiệu một số công trình, sản phẩm công nghệ của viện và ngài có buổi chia sẻ với cán bộ công nhân viên của Viện.

Đức Dalai Lama và Peter Yarrow sau khi ông ta biểu diễn
bản nhạc 'Never Give Up' tại Viện công nghệ Chiba

Đức Dalai Lama và nhà báo-nhà văn Yoshiko Sakurai tại Viện công nghệ Chiba

Vào ngày 17-11, Đức Dalai Lama đã tham gia vào cuộc đối thoại với một số nhà khoa học của Nhật Bản về vấn đề vũ trụ, cuộc sống và giáo dục tại khách sạn Okura.

Ngày 18-11, Đức Dalai Lama đến thăm trường Yakumo, một trường nữ sinh tại Tokyo. Tại đây, Đức Dalai Lama đã chia sẻ và giao lưu với các nữ sinh.

Đức Dalai Lama và hiệu trưởng của trường Yakumo

Ngày 19-11, ngài đến thăm chùa Zojoji, Tokyo và chia sẻ với chư tăng và quý vị trong ban quản lý của chùa.

Vào ngày 21-11, Đức Dalai Lama sẽ có buổi chia sẻ trước công chúng về chủ đề: “Chuyển sang một thế kỷ thứ 21 hòa bình” tại khách sạn Century.

Vào ngày 23-11, Đức Dalai Lama sẽ có buổi nói chuyện về “Ý nghĩa của nghệ thuật và văn hóa” tại trường Đại học Kyoto Seika.

Ngày 24-11, Đức Dalai Lama sẽ tham gia vào một cuộc đối thoại với bà Banana Yoshimoto về “tôn giáo và nghệ thuật” tại Trung tâm Hội nghị Quốc tế.

Ngày 25-11, Đức Dalai Lama sẽ có buổi pháp thoại với công chúng về đề tài “Hãy sử dụng tốt nhất trí tuệ của Phật giáo vào trong cuộc sống hàng ngày” tại hội trường Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Minh Nguyên tổng hợp

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Addresses an All Party Parliamentary Group in Japan

November 20th 2013

Tokyo, Japan, 20 November 2013 - His Holiness began the day by meeting some Tibetan students who are studying in Japan. He spelt out to them how Tibetan Buddhist literature has been a unifying factor among Tibetans for centuries. The Kangyur and Tengyur are not only held in respect by almost every Tibetan, but also by other Himalayan and Central Asian peoples. Next, he met a group of Chinese to whom he explained his threefold classification of the contents of those same scriptures into science, philosophy and Buddhism. He told them that since the aim of Buddhist practice is to cultivate wisdom, eliminate ignorance and overcome suffering, he increasingly encourages twenty-first century Buddhists to study.

Eriko Yamantin welcomes His Holiness the Dalai Lama before his address to an All Party Parliamentary Group at the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet, Japan

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the All Party Parliamentarian Group at the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet, Japan

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the All Party Parliamentarian Group at the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL

Students of Yakumo Academy, Tokyo, cheer His Holiness the Dalai Lama

November 18th 2013

Tokyo, Japan, 18 November 2013 - When His Holiness the Dalai Lama stepped out of his car into the sunshine and the grounds of the Yakumo Academy this morning a great cheer went up. He was audibly welcomed not only by the students on the quadrangle, but also those on the balconies and at the windows of classrooms on the upper floors. Many of them waved Tibetan flags in their hands. He was greeted personally by the President-principal Akira Kondo Toshiro.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is greeted by students as he enters the hall before his talk at Yakumo Academy, a girls' school in Tokyo, Japan on November 18, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL

“Another small difference between us is that I am old and you are young. The Principal and I belong to the 20th century, while you girls belong to the 21st. The 20th century is past, whereas the 21st is just beginning. While we can only learn from the past, we can’t change it. However, the future is yet to come and we can still shape how we’d like it to be.”

He spoke about the violence and bloodshed he and his generation had witnessed in the 20th century and the immense suffering that had been the result. This was despite the great developments and innovations that had also taken place. He suggested that some of the unfortunate events that have taken place in the early years of this century are a result of mistakes made in the last.

“What’s important now is to ensure that the 21st century becomes an era of peace and non-violence. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any problems, there will, so long as sources of conflict remain, but we need to resolve them not by resort to force, but through dialogue. It’s not easy to establish peace, but look at what Japan and Germany achieved. After being completely destroyed, these nations rebuilt themselves out of the ashes of their destruction. What it took was vision, determination and will power.”

We have to ask ourselves, he said, whether it’s possible to achieve a peaceful world. In the early decades of the 20th century, many people felt that war was unavoidable, that it was necessary to maintain the national interest. When the first and second world wars were declared, citizens joined the war effort proudly and willingly; this kind of attitude has completely changed. People protested about the wars in Vietnam and Kosovo and at the time of the Iraq crisis millions of people all over the world demonstrated against it. War brings huge suffering and people opposed it. His Holiness said:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at Yakumo Academy, a girl’s school in Tokyo, Japan on November 18, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet, Japan

“I visit Europe quite often and I’ve asked young people there how they regard the people in neighbouring countries and they shrug and say, ‘They’re just our neighbours’. This is due to the existence of the EU and is evidence that human beings are becoming more mature. The desire for peace is very strong.

“In 1996 I met the British Queen Mother who’d been born at the beginning of the century and I asked her whether over that time the world had become better or worse. She had no hesitation in saying that it had got better. She said that when she was young there was no talk at all of human rights or self-determination, which most people now expect to exercise. These and the emergence of concern about natural ecology are indications that we have become more realistic and forward thinking. So there are grounds for hope.”

He admitted that there are those who argue that basic human nature is aggressive so war and violence are unavoidable, which requires serious and careful consideration, but he would say the evidence is to the contrary. Our mothers give birth to us; she cuddles and feeds us. We trust her, so long as we are in her arms we feel safe. Scientists say this physical contact is necessary for the proper growth of our brains. The child who grows up in an affectionate family, grows up happy and healthy.

Scientists have conducted experiments that show that children are naturally inclined to prefer kind responses, which suggests that human nature is essentially compassionate. Because others are the key to our own survival, compassion is an implicit part of our lives. As social animals we naturally show each other affection.

Looking into the audience, His Holiness laughingly said:

“Look, some of you are smiling, which is a natural human response, and which I always appreciate. I see that many of you have taken special care of your hair, but if you were to smile too, you’d look even better. I understand that students historically study English at this school and I think that Japanese students should do so, because like it or not English is the international language. Even my broken English has allowed me to reach out to others.”

A student asking His Holiness the Dalai Lama a question during his talk at Yakumo Academy, a girl’s school in Tokyo, Japan on November 18, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet, Japan

He invited questions and the first student who came forward told him that she gets very tense before taking part in a big event and wondered what to do about it. He told her that when he was young he quite often felt nervous before meeting important people too. He advised her to be truthful and honest which will boost her self-confidence and reduce her nervousness. But he also suggested carefully considering the situation and setting herself realistic goals.

Another student told him that these days Japan is facing threats of trouble from other countries and she would like to know how they should cope with it. He laughed, saying:

“O, this is complicated. I always believe that a fundamentally positive approach is to take account of the oneness of humanity. Dividing the world into ‘us’ and ‘them’ might have worked in the past, but it doesn’t any more. We have to talk through our problems with confidence. We Tibetans, for example, have suffered a great deal, but we are committed to talking through our difficulties with our opponents, considering them our fellow human beings, to achieve our goals.”

The final question was about how to reconcile advice that runs counter to your own plans. He suggested consulting others, thinking deeply and taking all the options into account before making a decision. But once you reach a decision, he said, you should stick to it. This is what His Holiness says he tries to do himself.

One student then stepped forward and on behalf of her fellow students thanked His Holiness for coming to the school and for his talk. She told him they appreciated his thoughtful words and would not forget them. She hoped he would enjoy the rest of his visit to Japan.

Peter Barakan interviewing His Holiness the Dalai Lama in connection with an animated film focussing on the life of the Buddha in Tokyo, Japan on November 18, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL

Back at his hotel, after lunch, His Holiness was interviewed by broadcaster Peter Barakan in connection with an animated film focussing on the life of the Buddha. He told him that a unique aspect of the Buddha’s teaching is its emphasis on developing wisdom. This is because the primary source of suffering is ignorance and if we want to reduce suffering we have to increase wisdom and reduce our ignorance. To a question about destiny, he replied that the destiny of every human being is death, so while you are alive it’s better not to create trouble for others.

Regarding asceticism, His Holiness clarified that the Buddha did for some time engage strictly in ascetic practices like fasting. However, he eventually concluded that the best course was to avoid the extreme of luxury and the extreme of asceticism. He discovered that to make best use of the potential of the mind requires a strong and healthy body. He thanked the team for their work to help people become more aware of the Buddha and what he taught.

Dialogue with Scientists in Tokyo on ‘Universe, Life and Education’

November 17th 2013

Tokyo, Japan, 17 November 2013 - For the fifth in a series of dialogues His Holiness the Dalai Lama has held with scientists in Japan since 2004, he was accompanied into the hall where the meeting was taking place by the Abbot of Koyasan, headquarters of the Shingon school of Japanese Buddhism. Dr Haruo Saji opened proceedings, drawing attention to the many correspondences that exist between Buddhist and scientific approaches to reality. He also mentioned that there are things that are difficult for us to know and referred to our inability to see our own real face. He said what we see in the mirror is only a reflection and a photograph is only dots of ink on paper. The Koyasan Abbot said he has found much in common between his tradition and Tibetan Buddhism and looked forward to listening to His Holiness’s conversation with scientists. The moderator, Prof. Akira Ikegami introduced His Holiness.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at the dialogue with scientists in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet Japan

“In order to understand the way our brains behave,” he said, “we have to study our emotions and their effects. In the past, it seemed as though science and spirituality were opposed to each other. However, it’s not a useful division to maintain, because the one tradition deals with knowledge of the material world and the other with the inner world of the mind; we need to know about both.”

He pointed out that the Buddha’s advice to his followers not to accept what he said at face value, but to experiment with it, to examine and investigate it, contains a healthy scepticism in common with a scientific approach. Subsequent Indian masters like Nagarjuna had followed this advice critically examining what true cessation, the third of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, meant. He revealed that liberation or true cessation is a state of mind in which the negative emotions that defile and obstruct the mind have been completely eliminated. And to achieve it we have to understand emptiness of intrinsic existence. Nagarjuna clarified that to say ‘form is empty, emptiness is form’ refers to nothing existing objectively, to things existing merely as designations on the basis of their parts.

His Holiness highlighted the practical nature of the Buddha’s teaching. The Four Noble Truths were taught on the basis of causality. The Buddha himself was, to begin with, an ordinary human being like us, but through intense training became enlightened. He said we all have Buddha nature, but we have to bring it to fruition through our own efforts. Buddha nature is our subtle mind and mind is perfected by employing the mind.

“From a Buddhist point of view understanding emptiness is important, because it is through this wisdom, this glimpse of reality, that we eliminate our disturbing emotions. An American friend, a psychiatrist called Aaron Beck, once told me that when people are angry, they see the object of their anger as almost entirely negative, yet 90% of this is just their mental projection. Ignorance, which underpins our destructive emotions, has no valid basis, but the wisdom that understands reality in based on reason. The Buddhist approach is to use our intelligence to the maximum. We have to investigate and seek truth from facts. And for this reason I am eager to engage in discussion with scientists.”

Audience members listening to the dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and scientists in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet Japan

Moriya Okano, Director of the Samgraha Institute for Educational, Psychological and Spiritual Studies spoke about cosmos therapy. He explained that one of the drawbacks of science has been its reduction of everything to material terms, which has caused people to lose sight of a sense of ethics and meaning in life. The consequent sense of meaninglessness has led to depression and despair. However, the emergence of ideas of ecology, the theory of relativity, genetic research has led them to appreciate that they belong to a greater whole, which has therapeutic value.

His Holiness remarked that Buddhists distinguish inanimate living things from sentient beings. Although plants, animals and people can ultimately be reduced to the same kind of particles, plants have no ability to know and no ability to feel pleasure or pain. The difference is the presence of consciousness, the substantial cause of which is consciousness. His Holiness mentioned too that after extensive discussions with his old friend Francisco Varela they had concluded that a sentient being could be defined as something that can move voluntarily.

Susumu Sakurai, a Master of Science at Tokyo Institute of Technology gave a presentation about Mathematics in relation to humanity. He asserted that mathematics has been developed and explored by human beings who have discovered numerical realms that are superior to the universe as a physical entity, but which have also become a significant tool to understand the universe. He cited the curious perfection of ‘pi’, the mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. He gave an enigmatic demonstration that everyone’s birth date could be found in it.

Asked to comment, His Holiness said that to do so he would need to know something about the topic and that although the presentation had been wonderful, he had always been poor at mathematics.

The third presentation of the morning was given by Akiko Katsumata, Assistant Professor at Suzuka Junior College. She spoke about the importance and educational value of putting yourself in someone else’s place and cited several cases when she had learned a lesson because she had failed to do so. On one occasion she went to a restaurant with someone with cerebral palsy and proceeded to order for her, thinking it was a kindly and efficient thing to do. Her companion complained that she had behaved as if she did not exist.

View of the stage during the dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and scientists in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2013. Photo/Office of Tibet Japan

Another time she was working with victims of the Tohoku earthquake who were living in makeshift housing. She was taken aback to hear that for one woman the worst part of it was having to live with a dirty kitchen, because everyone traipsed through it. Finally, she amused the audience with photographs of the ‘angel smile’ on the face of a newborn baby who would normally be regarded as helpless.

Asked for his thoughts to end the morning session, His Holiness said:

“All beings want happiness and to live in peace undisturbed. Therefore the concept of human rights is universal. It should apply to everyone who experiences pain or pleasure. This is also why developing sincere concern for others is the source of your own peace of mind; it brings with it trust and a sense of peace. Cultivating warm-heartedness contributes to our own well-being.”

The afternoon session opened with Norio Kaifu, Professor Emeritus, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, who declared that he was an astronomer with an interest in Buddhism. He said that he believes there is neither a beginning nor a final theory about the universe. In fact the universe is evolving as it continues to expand. He said the universe has evolved through a combination of the laws of physics and an enormous series of coincidences, citing his own life as a consequence of such a series of coincidences. He suggested that in this context, Buddhism seems to be the only religious tradition that is compatible with science. He concluded by telling His Holiness that he is part of an international project to construct an astronomical observatory in Tibet.

The second presentation of the afternoon was given by Shinichi Nishikawa, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University who asked what scientists should be looking for in the 21st century. He drew attention to the number of things that human beings deal with that have no physical existence. He gave the example of a clock which physically exists, but also of its function and purpose to tell the time which has no physical existence. He also mentioned that it is the emptiness of a vessel and the space in a window or doorway, an absence of physical existence, that allows them to function.

His Holiness was prompted to remark that there is an important difference between something that is shown not to exist and something that has not been proved to exist. He talked about three classes of phenomena, those that obviously exist, those that are slightly hidden and those that are extremely hidden. Obvious phenomena are the things we can see, but also include our experience of consciousness, which is obvious to us even though we cannot see, touch or measure it.

Haruo Saji, Kazuo Murakami, Akiko Katsumata, Susumu Sakurai, Moriya Okano, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Akira Ikegami and Norio Kaifu together at the conclusion of their dialogue on "Universe, Life and Education" in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL

With regard to slightly hidden phenomena, if you are unsure about something, in order to prove its existence you can cite a causal relationship. You can say that in the absence of an effect, you can infer the absence of the cause. Or because you can see the result, you can infer the existence of the cause. When it comes to extremely hidden phenomena our recourse is to a reliable informant.

His Holiness explained that Buddhist literature preserved in Tibetan can be classified into science and philosophy, which can be of interest to anyone, and religious matters of interest only to Buddhists. He announced that two volumes of Buddhist science materials have been compiled and will be published in the near future.

Among the final comments, Prof. Nishikawa said that due to the constraints under which they function, scientists are not free but they are safe. His Holiness responded:

“I’ve had many serious discussions with many scientists. And I’ve discovered that the best scientists are intelligent, open-minded and receptive. Their minds are not set, but open. However, they do not accept anything until it can be proved by experiment and reason.”

Prof. Kaifu asked His Holiness how he would summarize Buddhism and he replied:

“All major religions carry the same message about seeking to live a happy life. What is unique about Buddhism is that not only is there no concept of a creator, but also no concept of an inherently existent self. Its basic philosophical view is that all things are interdependent, that they come about in dependence on other factors, and its conduct, non-violence, is of universal benefit.”

Prof. Murakami was invited to offer closing remarks. He said he was happy to have been able to bring this event about. He thanked His Holiness, the moderator, the coordinator, the five speakers and Mr Lhakpa Tshoko, His Holiness’s Representative in Japan, for their contributions to making this special event possible. The audience was generous with its applause.