![]() Nevertheless, day to day relations were conducted on the basis of generosity, consideration, and gentleness towards others. Individual freedom, exemplified by liberation or enlightenment, was the primary focus of the entire community and was achieved by cultivating the mind in meditation. The only slight difference in status depended on seniority of ordination. Within this fraternity, individuals were equal, whatever their social class or caste origins. The institution the Buddha established was the Sangha or monastic community, which functioned on largely democratic lines. Not only do we all desire happiness and seek to avoid suffering, but each of us has an equal right to pursue these goals. Irrespective of whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, belonging to one nation or another, to one religion or another, adhering to this ideology or that, each of us is just a human being like everyone else. Buddhism too recognises that human beings are entitled to dignity, that all members of the human family have an equal and inalienable right to liberty, not just in terms of political freedom, but also at the fundamental level of freedom from fear and want. Modern democracy is based on the principle that all human beings are essentially equal, that each of us has an equal right to life, liberty, and happiness. He also saw that while ignorance binds beings in endless frustration and suffering, wisdom is liberating. The Buddha saw that life's very purpose is happiness. A goal to be attained by men and women alike. As Buddhists, we Tibetans revere human life as the most precious gift and regard the Buddha's philosophy and teaching as a path to the highest kind of freedom. The idea that people can live together freely as individuals, equal in principle and therefore responsible for each other, essentially agrees with the Buddhist disposition. Just as the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet cemented our nation, I am confident that the democratization of our society will add to the vitality of the Tibetan people and enable our decision-making institutions to reflect their heartfelt needs and aspirations. I believe that future generations will consider these changes among the most important achievements of our experience in exile. Our democratization has reached out to Tibetans all over the world. I hope that these moves will allow the people of Tibet to have a clear say in determining the future of their country. There are many advantages to such a step and it will enable us to become a true and complete democracy. The future head of the Tibetan Government must be someone popularly elected by the people. For many reasons, I have decided that I will not be the head of, or play any role in the government when Tibet becomes independent. We have recently embarked on changes that will further democratize and strengthen our administration in exile. A democracy that has nonviolence and peace at its roots. I have long looked forward to the time when we could devise a political system, suited both to our traditions and to the demands of the modern world. The familiarity of all Tibetan exiles with the word 'democracy' shows this. Over the years, therefore, we have tried through various means to achieve a model of true democracy. Therefore, those of us in exile have had a responsibility to contemplate and plan for a future Tibet. ![]() Our brothers and sisters in Tibet, despite being in their own country do not even have the right to life. Later, we learned the hard way that in the international arena, as well as at home, freedom is something to be shared and enjoyed in the company of others, not kept to yourself.Īlthough the Tibetans outside Tibet have been reduced to the status of refugees, we have the freedom to exercise our rights. We hardly noticed when India, one of our closest neighbours, having peacefully won her independence, became the largest democracy in the world. Consequently, we paid little attention to the changes taking place in the world outside. When Tibet was still free, we cultivated our natural isolation, mistakenly thinking that we could prolong our peace and security that way. The emergence of peoples' power movements, overthrowing dictatorships of left and right, has shown indisputably that the human race can neither tolerate nor function properly under tyranny.Īlthough none of our Buddhist societies developed anything like democracy in their systems of government, I personally have great admiration for secular democracy. However, because people have an innate desire for freedom, the forces of liberty and oppression have been in continuous conflict throughout history. ![]() For thousands of years people have been led to believe that only an authoritarian organization employing rigid disciplinary methods could govern human society. ![]()
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