Wednesday, 01/22/2025
Oversea
Dalai Lama: Buddhist centers should be academic classrooms, places of interreligious dialogue
Update: 13/07/2016
According to\r\nThe Tibet Post, the Tibetan spiritual leader made the appeal to a group of\r\nabout 300 people who gathered at Deer Park Buddhist Center in Wisconsin on\r\nMarch 6, 2016 to hear him speak.
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“It would be\r\nbetter if [Buddhist centers] were not only temples for worship, but centers of\r\nlearning,†he said.
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His Holiness\r\nnoted that over the past 30 years he has engaged in discussions with modern\r\nscientists, allowing him to analyze and investigate the Buddha’s teachings. He\r\nhopes that the treatment of Buddhist centers as classrooms would bring this\r\nsame kind of learning to the non-ordained.
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“Since you\r\nhave people here who are well-qualified to explain the teachings, you should\r\nhold classes about the science of mind that can appeal to everyone,†he said.
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His Holiness\r\nalso suggested that Buddhist centers initiate interreligious dialogue, as many\r\nvirtues of Buddhism can be found amongst Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and\r\nIslam.
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“All the\r\nmajor religious traditions convey the same message of love, whether they teach\r\nabout a creator or not,†said His Holiness. “If we are to create a happier\r\nhumanity and lead more meaningful lives, we have to learn to show each other\r\ngreater love and affection.â€
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Buddhism has\r\nintersected with different religions and education repeatedly over the past\r\nyear. A children’s camp was held this past summer in at a Buddhist center in\r\nFrance, bringing the Muslim Scouts of France and the Buddhist-based Nature\r\nScouts into a together for one week. Scientific studies have also announced new\r\nfindings on Buddhism and neuroscience,
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such as the\r\ninfluence of Buddhist concepts on behavior, and the validity of Buddhism’s view\r\nof the self.
The Dalai Lama himself previously warned against the\r\ndownfalls of religious division and urged for Buddhism to be brought into\r\nacademia, as demonstrated by Melvin McLeod’s 2007 report, Educating the Heart,\r\nin which His Holiness suggested children learn compassion through school\r\ncurricula.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSoure from: http://www.lionsroar.com/dalai-lama-urging/
\r\n\r\nLilly Greenblatt