An atmosphere of intense excitement filled the auditorium of the Diet Members’ Office Building in Nagata-cho, central Tokyo, on November 13 as 134 bipartisan members of the Japanese Diet and 98 proxies gathered to hear His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama deliver an address entitled: “Universal Responsibility and Human Values.” The venue of the address was hastily shifted from the International Conference Hall as organizers learned at the last minute that the supreme Tibetan Buddhist leader attracted more than double the initially announced number of attendees for his first official address before Japanese Diet members.

　　　European nations and the US have on a number of occasions invited the Dalai Lama to speak before their national bodies in order to demonstrate their position honoring freedom and human rights despite the friction such visits could create with China. In marked contrast, this was the first time for His Holiness to speak at a Diet facility in Japan. Seishu Makino, a Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Diet member who has been involved in matters pertaining to Tibet, commented excitedly:

　　　“It simply is fantastic that so many of our colleagues in the Diet came to hear His Holiness speak. I personally think Japan may have surpassed the US and Europe in terms of the enthusiastic welcome we extend to him.”

　　　At the auditorium, Diet members, scholars, researchers, and members of the press all stood as they clapped their hands to welcome the smiling visitor. Shaking hands with the welcomers one by one as he proceeded towards the podium, His Holiness suddenly stopped in front of a grey-bearded Diet member, gently touching his beard, and then putting his forehead against that of the Diet member. This affable gesture enticed the welcomers to smile, easing the tenseness that had prevailed in the hall.

　　　Makino said a few words of welcome, representing interested parties in the DPJ, followed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, head of the leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who took the floor introduced as representing “interested members of the LDP.” There was another roar of applause when Abe said: “I am honored to welcome His Holiness, not as a representative of interested members of the LDP, but as our party’s official representative.”

　　　Japan is steadily taking steps towards a new pattern of standard international behavior, safeguarding the values that a member of the international community must honor.

　　　His Holiness obviously enjoyed his first dialogue with so large a group of Diet members in a country he has visited a number of times, where he has engaged in intimate conversations with, and befriended, men of religion, scientists, businessmen, and average citizens everywhere he has traveled. Speaking in a youthful voice and looking jovial, the Dalai Lama remarked:

　　　“I am just one of the seven billion human beings on earth. Viewed scientifically, we are all born with the same mental, physical, and emotional constitution. Tibetans and Japanese are especially of similar appearance and, as a Tibetan, I feel particularly close to, and friendly towards, the Japanese people.”

What the Number of Attendees Signifies

　　　His Holiness noted that mankind has yet to eradicate conflicts between men or between nations in the 21^st century. He attributes this to man’s failure to pay enough attention to the fact that we all stand within the same larger framework of fellow human beings, noting that we overemphasize linguistic, ethnic, and national differences.

　　　Based on his dialogues with a number of scientists in the past, he has this to say:

　　　“The most important task for Buddhists is to nurture compassion for all living things and do everything possible to materialize their happiness. To think about the happiness of others is to elevate oneself spiritually and acquire courage. This has been ascertained not only from a Buddhist standpoint but also from a scientific standpoint. For instance, it is known that a person who embraces lasting anger and hatred sees his immunity level decline markedly, while a person who does the opposite sees his immunity level increase.”

　　　The mind and body are one; and one person and seven billion persons are also one – that was what His Holiness preached as the first theme of his lecture. The second theme of his talk had to do with the reality of the contemporary world as viewed from a Buddhist’s perspective:

　　　“When I observe the world as a mere Buddhist priest, I cannot but notice it is man’s raw religious sentiments that often trigger divisiveness, violence, or conflicts.”

　　　Likewise in the world of science, His Holiness went on to say, if a person becomes excessively attached to his field of expertise, that tends to lead to prejudice, which makes him blind to the truth. Therefore, scientists owe it to themselves to surmount such narrow-mindedness.

　　　“Christianity accepts God as the creator of the universe. Buddhism and Jainism, on the other hand, do not subscribe to such a belief, honoring the law of inga (cause and effect) instead. In other words, in Buddhism each practitioner assumes a position that he himself is the creator. Naturally, Christianity and Buddhism are philosophically alien from each other. And yet, they share the same aim. I believe it is only natural that there should be different approaches to all things, including religion. ”

　　　Conflicts derived from religious and cultural differences abound. In Myanmar, where the thoughtful people are pursuing democracy by keeping a distance from the military junta and the strong influence of China, clashes between Buddhists and Muslims are surfacing, overlapped with struggles among ethnic minorities. The same goes true for Bangladesh. Further, there often are rivalries resulting from the differences between Mohayana (“the Great Vehicle”）Buddhism and Himayana (“the Lesser Vehicle”) Buddhism.

　　　“Man is endowed with intellect,” stresses His Holiness. “Achieving mutual understanding based on harmony among different religions ought to be possible. As a proponent of democracy, I would sincerely like to help create a world in which people honor each other, the walls separating religions can be surmounted, and the values and beliefs of all people are respected.”

　　　At the end of his lecture, His Holiness came up with a special proposal that he earnestly wanted to make to the people of Japan, saying:

　　　“I sincerely wish to tell my friends in Japan two things as a Tibetan who hails from Amdo, northeast Tibet. My first point has to do with the environment. As you know, Tibet is the ‘roof of the world’ as well as ‘the world’s third pole.’ At this juncture, the Tibetan highlands, like the North Pole and the South Pole, are suffering from serious environmental destruction due to global warming. Especially noticeable are signs of deterioration of our water resources.”

　　　Rivers flowing from the Tibetan highlands not only benefit the lives of 6 million Tibetans but also the entire Asian continent, including China and India, moistening the soil and nurturing lives.

　　　“The once-rich water resources originating from the highlands are now faced with a serious crisis. Excessive deforestation has led to rampant floods, while pillage of water resources has caused several rivers to run dry. We must at all costs prevent the abundant natural resources nurtured in Tibet from being thrown into chaos.”

Sowing the Seeds Befitting Japan for the Future of the World

　　　While His Holiness refrained from naming China, it is commonly believed that China is responsible for much of the deterioration of Asia’s water resources. He also touched on Tibetan Buddhism, explaining that love, mercy, peace, and non-violence run through its fundamental teachings.

　　　Noting that some 4 million Chinese are studying Tibetan Buddhism today, he is nevertheless negative about the attitude towards Tibetan Buddhism on the part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP):

　　　“The narrow-minded CCP officials never try to come to grips with the truth about Tibetan Buddhism; they are simply afraid of it. They fear Tibetan Buddhism will eventually become the cause for the breaking up of China. That is far from the truth. Look at what is happening in India.”

　　　India is the hub of religious diversity with Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and other religions harmoniously co-existing with each other; also, language, culture, and ideology vary widely from state to state, and region to region. And yet, no marked signs of secession or breaking up of the state have been observed.

　　　As regards this subject, His Holiness had this to say to his audience: “Surely, there is a way to avoid a breaking up of China even if it grants Tibet a high degree of autonomy. Despite this, fierce suppression of the Tibetan people continues on. Standing in front of this audience of Diet members from Japan – this very important nation in Asia – I cannot help feeling a strong urge to appeal to you for Japan’s cooperation. But then, I am one who has completely retired from politics, so I consider it wise to not discuss this matter further.”

　　　His Holiness ended his address with these remarks, although I suspect he would have wanted to talk more. Even so, the audience got his message, loud and clear. That is why a letter of appeal was adopted then and there as the collective opinion of all the 134 Diet members present “strongly urging the Chinese government to improve the situation concerning China’s deplorable suppression of the Tibetans and Uyghurs, as well as others.”

　　　Simultaneously, a decision was made to set up the “Federation of Bipartisan Diet members to Support Tibet.” At long last, Japan has sown the seeds for historic change befitting its status as a nation honoring freedom, human rights, and democracy.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 535 in the November 22, 2012 issue of The Weekly Shincho)