DALAI LAMA: Encouraging a Compassionate World
LARRY KING: “After 2,000 years of civilization, haven’t we learned that humans can’t be trusted with the power of religion that humans have failed?” Don’t you think that human beings have failed? Mark Twain thought that. That we’ve failed. Billy Graham says we failed. We haven’t taught humanity. The religions of the world teaches humanity. But we haven’t lived that. We’ve had war.
THE DALAI LAMA: I think religion, all major religion including Buddhism, over 2,000 years I think, immense help to humanity. But not adequate. Particularly now today.
LARRY KING: So help but not enough…
THE DALAI LAMA: Out of 7 billion, over 1 billion non-believer. And then more important, among the believers, there are corrupted believer there. So this clearly shows religious teaching not adequate. So now we have to find another way to educate people the importance of these inner value. Not relying on religion but more secularly. That I fully committed.
LARRY KING: Who would you like? Any… you pick any person that you could have dinner with who ever lived, who would you like to have dinner with?
THE DALAI LAMA: Oh, who, not emphasis importance or formality. Is showing as a human being that I love that. You see, too much formality I don’t like.
LARRY KING: wouldn’t you like to have dinner with Christ?
THE DALAI LAMA: Christ? One time some sort of questioner asked me, “If you have opportunity meeting with Jesus Christ, what question you ask him?” Then I felt I would like to ask, “What is God?” His father or Holy Spirit. I would like to know more.
LARRY KING: “Do you believe that Earth is the only planet in space that has life?”
THE DALAI LAMA: No. As of course, as many Buddhist literature mentioned, there are countless world, countless sort of, what’s the, galaxies. So then I think if we use our common sense, then out a sort of countless sort of galaxies and the planet, that only this planet have, you see, human being I think difficult to say.
