Huff Post:By Dominique Mosbergen.
On Monday, His Holiness the Dalai Lama took to Facebook to tell his four million friends that “religion is no longer adequate.”
The Tibetan religious leader was quoting from a book he published last year, entitled “Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World,” in which he argues that religion by itself may no longer provide a satisfactory solution to the ills of the world.
“Any religion-based answer to the problem of our neglect of inner values can never be universal, and so will be inadequate. What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics,” he wrote.
In a review of the Dalai Lama’s work, however, the Los Angeles Times notes the 77-year-old Buddhist monk was by no means “denouncing faith,” but rather highlighting the need for a universally shared ethos that is rooted in compassion and is relevant in this modern age:
Dalai Lama says:
“Any religion-based answer to the problem of our neglect of inner values can never be universal, and so will be inadequate. What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics,” he wrote.
The question is “how” this will be done. Will “religion” move towards “science” or vica versa?
In my article “God’s Particle” in this newspaper I had mentioned “genes” and “momos”, the material and moral aspects of “matter”. Dalai Lama names the same phenomenon as “secular ethics”.
“Secular ethics” are the “universal truths” which get established and accepted over a time by society and mankind. Those need no arguements or convincing. It is the evolved “momo” – the moral part of the Particle. Religion is just the vehicle to express that part of evolved Particle which human being uses. Science is the vehicle which instrumental to prove those “universal truths”.
MAV
Sweden
To the dalai lama , will THE CREATOR OF THE UINIVERSE be adequate to sort out the people of this world.
& what makes one say that religion does not have ethics or God fearing people do not have ethics on a universal scale?
http://youtu.be/BjbPFDA0Qnc
I totally agree with the Dalai Lama. You dont have to follow a specific religion to be a good person. God does not need us, like a jealous king, to follow him. If we live a moral life without adhereing any religion thats enough. Today is friday and after the “prayers” riots will start again. Whats then religion for? What weak God wants people to kill other people for him? If God wants to punish them he has enough time in their afterlife.
So not for the first time such a staement. But whats his solutions for absolut justice, absolut peace, absolut truth and so on. So go on, but before he tries this, he should take out all the teachings taught by religions till now. Giving just a simple exapme “the Commandments of Moses”, teachings of Jesus, Abraham, Mohammad (may peace be upon all of them), because he himself says “religion is no longer Adequate”. If it is so, then he has to rethink the whole morality etc.
I totally agree with Yundola. “God” needs neither us nor our practice of rituals. Afterall what difference does that really make to him? None, whatsoever… His attributes remain the same regardless of what we do, or don’t do. Laws of nature are devised and we have no choice but to comply with them. Whatever we do has consequences — and we have free choice. The consequences are the “fate” of our free will actions. All of us can try to understand the inner meanings of the “divine” books and sayings of spiritual ledaers like teh Dalai Lama and decide for himself/ herself