I Became The Dalai Lama

An Open Heart Is An Open Mind.

As A Buddhist, I View Death As A Normal Process, A Reality That I Accept Will Occur As Long As I Remain In This Earthly Existence. Knowing That I Cannot Escape It, I See No Point In Worrying About It. I Tend To Think Of Death As Being Like Changing Your Clothes When They Are Old And Worn Out, Rather Than As Some Final End. Yet Death Is Unpredictable: We Do Not Know When Or How It Will Take Place. So It Is Only Sensible To Take Certain Precautions Before It Actually Happens.

Whether You Call It Buddhism Or Another Religion, Self-discipline, That's Important. Self-discipline With Awareness Of Consequences.

The Problems We Face Today, Violent Conflicts, Destruction Of Nature, Poverty, Hunger, And So On, Are Human-created Problems Which Can Be Resolved Through Human Effort, Understanding And The Development Of A Sense Of Brotherhood And Sisterhood. We Need To Cultivate A Universal Responsibility For One Another And The Planet We Share.

Anger And Hatred Are The Real Enemies That We Must Confront And Defeat, Not The 'enemies' Who Appear From Time To Time In Our Lives.