The Dalai Lama has argued that interfaith dialogue is necessary to neutralize extreme or intolerant expressions of faith. The remarks were made in an interview with a round table of journalists during a visit to Japan on 8 April.
The Dalai Lama being interviewed for The Asahi Shimbun in Gifu, Japan, on 8 April 2015. From Tenzin Jigmey
The Dalai Lama sat down with Tetsuo Kogure and Kentaro Isomura of The Asahi Shimbun and Maki Osanai of Live Viewing Japan to say, “You see the concept of one religion, one truth. I think we Tibetans also sometimes say Buddhism is the only truth. But when we come outside more, make wider contact with different religious people and different religious traditions, then we realize on this planet there are many religious traditions.” He stressed that although the threat of nuclear war has subsided, the threat of terrorism and extremism has become closely associated with religious faith.
He shared his well-publicized unhappiness with how the United States handled 9/11: “After the September 11th event, I wrote to President Bush to express my condolences, but I also said ‘I hope you can deal with the consequences of this in a non-violent way.’ My concern was that in a situation in which there was already one Bin Laden, to use force risked creating 10 Bin Ladens or 100 Bin Ladens. The trouble is that the use of violence provokes a violent response. We have to remember that terrorists are human beings too and find a way to talk to them.”
The Dalai Lama and Soto Zen monks paying respects to the Buddha before the start of his talk as part of the 40th Anniversary of the All Japan Young Priests Association in Gifu, Japan. From Tenzin Jigmey
The only way to break the chain of religious violence is to promote interfaith discussion, even in the face of hardliners unmoved by overtures of friendship and dialogue, he said. “Through military or violent ways, you may destroy some pockets, but that will not solve the problem. Violent methods simply control the human body, not the human mind,” he went on. “It is very difficult, but through a nonviolent way, to meet with these people, talk to these people, then perhaps the majority eventually will change the mental attitude. That is my belief.”
In a bold invitation, he urged religious leaders around the world to invite religious extremists, and even members of terrorist groups, to interfaith meetings. The objective would be to promote dialogue within a long-term strategic framework to persuade them to abandon violence. He also hinted that the United Nations represented too narrow a segment of society (governments) to facilitate such a task. What is needed, he said, is a global ecumenical organization separate from the UN: “We should have some kind of body that truly represents humanity, so scientists, writers and retired leaders can represent the wishes of (the world’s) 7 billion human beings.”
The Dalai Lama also offered what would seem to be an endorsement of religious pluralism as a practical policy for dialogue: “Different religious traditions really help humanity, and have done so over thousands of years, giving immense inspiration to millions of people, in the future also,” he reflected. “So, therefore we have to accept several truths, several religions, then I think conflicts over religion will automatically reduce.”