...*sigh* Read this, all of it. If U have time of course. And here I thought I was the only one...-_-
"Many people seem to be excited about the new millennium, but 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. However, if we really want the next
millennium to be happier, more peaceful and more harmonious for humankind we will have to
make the effort to make it so. This is in our hands, but especially in the hands of the
younger generation.
We have had many experiences during this century - constructive as
well as extremely destructive ones. We must learn from these experiences. We need to
approach the next millennium more holistically, with more openness and farsightedness. If
we are going to make the right kind of efforts to make the future of the world better, I
believe the following matters are of great importance.
1. While engaging in material progress and taking care of physical
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. Along with education, which generally deals only with 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', as it in fact consists of basic human qualities such as
kindness, compassion, sincerity and honesty.
3. This past century in some ways has been a century of war and
bloodshed. It has seen a year by year increase in defense spending by most countries in
the world. If we are to change this trend we must seriously consider the concept of
non-violence, which is a physical expression of compassion. In order 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. External disarmament will also have to be done gradually, step by
step. We must first work on the total abolishment of nuclear weapons and gradually work up
to total demilitarisation throughout the world. In 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 the military expenditure of the various nations and
a gradual working towards demilitarisation. Human problems will, of course, always remain,
but the way to resolve them should be through dialogue and discussion. 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 the
poor, both globally and nationally. This inequality, with some sections of the human
community having abundance and others on the same planet going hungry or even dying of
starvation, is not only morally wrong, but practically also a source of problems. 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.
5. For the sake of our future generations, we need to take care of
our earth and of 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.
Since most 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. Lastly, one of the greatest challenges today is the population
explosion.
Unless we are able to tackle this issue effectively we will be
confronted with the problem of the natural resources being inadequate for all the human
beings on this earth.
We need to seriously look into these matters that concern us all if
we are to look forward to the future with some hope."
P.S. Who's Dalai Lama? o.O
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