India an example and role model for religious harmony, says Dalai Lama

India is a role model of religious harmony in the world, said Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama during his address in a virtual event on 'Maha Satipatthana Sutta' for Theravada Sangha held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

He said that when he came to exile in India as a refugee the practice of non-violence and religious harmony he found in Indian is "excellent". 

During the event, he spoke to around 600 monks from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. He addressed the event from his residence in Dharamsala, which is in the north Indian state, Himachal Pradesh. 

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The organiser of the event, the Sri Lankan Tibetan Buddhist Brotherhood Society aims to raise awareness of the common Buddhist heritage of the Sri Lankan and Tibetan people. 

During his address, Dalai Lama hailed the religious tradition of India and also lauded the teachings and practice of non-violence in the country. 

He said, "The Indian religious tradition teaches non-violence, not harming others. In India, the practice of non-violence - Ahimsa and Karuna have been practised for over 3,000 years."

"So, in India different religious traditions of the world such as Islam, Christianity, Jew and Judaism and so forth live together. India is an example, role model for religious harmony in the world. Since I came to exile in India as a refugee the practice of non-violence and religious harmony I found to be excellent in India," he said. 

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In his address, the Dalai Lama said, "Buddha himself has given us the freedom to analyse his own teaching and not take it on the face value, literally. So, in the Nalanda tradition therefore there is great emphasis on checking the teachings of the Buddha himself."

"So, the more you analyse through rational approach, the teachings of Buddha, the greater the certainty you gain. It's not like the more you do analyses of teaching you lose the track of your analyses and just stick to the faith alone. It's not like that. So, what we need is to develop faith in the teachings of the Buddha," he added. 

(With inputs from agencies)