My Spiritual Journey by Dalai Lama (good books for 8th graders txt) 📕

feeling is that belief in karma is very useful in everyday life. Once you believe in the connection between the motivation of an action and its effect, you become more sensitive to the repercussions of what you do, for yourself and others. That is the reason why, despite the tragedy that is occurring in Tibet, I find many good things in the world.

I am especially comforted when I see that consumption, taken as an end in itself, seems to be giving way to the feeling that we must preserve the Earth’s resources. This is utterly necessary. Human beings are children of the Earth. Whereas our common Mother Earth has tolerated our conduct up to now, she is showing us at present that we have reached the limits of what is tolerable.

I pray I am someday able to pass on this message of protection of the environment and care for others to the people of China. Since Buddhism isn’t at all foreign to the Chinese, I think I can be useful to them, on a practical level. The ninth Panchen Lama once gave the Kalachakra initiation in Beijing.29 So if I were to do the same thing, there would be a precedent. As a Buddhist monk, my concern is for all members of the human family—actually for all sentient beings.

With the growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have an even larger role to play, by reminding us of our humanity. There is no contradiction between these two approaches. Each one gives us valuable insights that allow us to understand the other better. Both science and the teachings of the Buddha speak to us of the essential unity of all living things.

Many times the Dalai Lama has publicly expressed his desire to confer on his “Chinese brothers and sisters” a Kalachakra initiation in Beijing, on Tiananmen Square. This tantric ritual, regarded as the supreme rite of Tibetan Buddhism, is dedicated to peace in the world.

When he gave the Kalachakra initiation in Sarnath in 1990 after having received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Dalai Lama blessed the seeds of different fruit trees and handed them out to the participants, declaring, “All the continents in the world are represented in this Kalachakra gathering. These seeds were placed near the mandala to receive the blessings. There are apricot, hazelnut, papaya, guava, and other seeds, which can be cultivated at various latitudes.”30 Thus, the world was sown with the seeds of peace.

Mind, heart, and environment

IT IS DIFFICULT for ordinary human beings to understand fully the experts’ forecasts on environmental changes. We hear talk of global warming, rising sea levels, increased cancer rates, major demographic growth, the exhaustion of natural resources, and the extinction of species. Everywhere, human activity is causing an accelerated destruction of the key elements on which the natural ecosystem of all living beings rests.

The world population has tripled in the space of a century, and it is expected to be multiplied by two or three in the twenty-first century. With the development of the global economy, extreme increases of energy consumption, production of carbon monoxide, and large-scale deforestation are foreseen. It is hard to imagine—all this will occur during our lifetime and during our children’s lifetime. We must anticipate suffering and environmental degradation on a global scale that will surpass anything we’ve known in the history of humanity.

In my opinion, however, there is still some good news: from now on, we will have to find a way to survive together on this planet. We have experienced enough wars, poverty, pollution, and suffering. According to the Buddhist teachings, these tragedies stem from ignorance and selfish actions, because most of the time we can’t manage to see the relationship that links all living things together. The Earth is warning us and giving us a clear signal of the large-scale consequences and the negative potential created by misdirected human behavior.

To thwart these harmful practices, let us learn to become more aware of our dependence on one another, and let us engage in correct actions, based on better motivation, to help the Earth and our brethren. That is why I always speak of the importance of an authentic sense of our universal responsibility.

We need knowledge that will allow us to take care of ourselves, of each location on Earth, and of the life it sustains. All this concerns future generations as well, so education on the subject of the environment is a priority for everyone.

Science and technological progress are essential to improve the quality of life in the present world. Even more important is learning to know and appreciate our natural environment more, whether we are adults or children. If we have real concern for others and if we refuse to act inconsiderately, we will be able to take care of the Earth. Let us learn how to share it instead of wanting to own it and destroying the beauty of life.

The ancestral cultures that have adapted to nature show how to create balance between a society and its environment. The Tibetans, as an example, have a unique experience of life on the Himalayan plateau, developed over the long history of a civilization that took care not to overexploit or destroy a fragile ecosystem. We have long appreciated the presence of wild animals, thinking they symbolize freedom. A profound respect for nature is visible in our art and our way of life. Our spiritual development was maintained despite limited material progress. Just as various species cannot adapt to sudden environmental change, human cultures also need to be treated with special consideration to assure their survival. Therefore, studying the ways of life of various peoples and preserving their cultural heritage is one way to learn how to protect the environment.

If we look closely, we see that the human mind, the human heart, and the environment are all inseparable. From this perspective, environmental education allows the birth of both the understanding and the love that we need for a