We Are All Brothers & Sisters
On Planet Earth
The Nobel Lecture
On December 11, 1989, the day after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, HisHoliness the Dalai Lama delivered this lecture at Osloís University Aula.
Brothers and Sisters, it is an honor and pleasure to be among you today. I amreally happy to see so many old friends who have come from different cornersof the world, and to make new friends, whom I hope to meet again in thefuture.
When I meet people in different parts of the world, I am alwaysreminded that we are all basically alike: we are all human beings. Maybe wehave different clothes, our skin is of a different color, or we speakdifferent languages. That is on the surface. But basically, we are the samehuman beings. That is what binds us to each other. That is what makes itpossible for us to understand each other and to develop friendship andcloseness.
Thinking over what I might say today, I decided to share with you some of mythoughts concerning the common problems all of us face as members of the humanfamily. Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn to livein harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just adream, but a necessity.
We are dependent on each other in so many ways that wecan no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happeningoutside those communities. We need to help each other when we havedifficulties, and we must share the good fortune that we enjoy. I speak to youas just another human being; as a simple monk. If you find what I say useful,then I hope you will try to practice it.
I also wish to share with you today my feelings concerning the plight andaspirations of the people of Tibet. The Nobel Prize is a prize they welldeserve for their courage and unfailing determination during the last fortyyears of foreign occupation. As a free spokesman for my captive countrymen andwomen, I feel it is my duty to speak out on their behalf.
I speak without a feeling of anger or hatred towards those who are responsible for the immensesuffering of our people and the destruction of our land, home and culture.They too are human beings who struggle to find happiness and deserve ourcompassion. I speak to inform you of the sad situation in my country today andof the aspirations of my people, because in our struggle for freedom, truth isthe only weapon we possess.
The realization that we are all basically the same human beings, who seekhappiness and try to avoid suffering is very helpful in developing a sense ofbrotherhood and sisterhood; a warm feeling of love and compassion for others.This, in turn, is essential if we are to survive in the ever-shrinking worldwe live in.
For if we each selfishly pursue only what we believe to be in ourown interest, without caring about the needs of others, we not only may end upharming others but also ourselves. This fact has become very clear during thecourse of this century.
We know that to wage a nuclear war today, for example,would be a form of suicide; or that by polluting the air or the oceans, inorder to achieve some short-term benefit, we are destroying the very basis forour survival. As individuals and nations becoming increasingly interdependent,therefore, we have no other choice than to develop what I call a sense ofuniversal responsibility.
Today, we are truly a global family. What happens in one part of the world mayaffect us all. This, of course, is not only true of the negative things thathappen, but is equally valid for the positive developments. We not only knowwhat happens elsewhere, thanks to the extraordinary modern communicationstechnology, we are also directly affected by events that occur far away. Wefeel a sense of sadness when children are starving in Eastern Africa.Similarly, we feel a sense of joy when a family is reunited after decades ofseparation by the Berlin Wall. Our crops and livestock are contaminated andour health and livelihood threatened when a nuclear accident happens milesaway in another country. Our own security is enhanced when peace breaks outbetween warring parties in other continents.
But war or peace; the destruction or the protection of nature; the violationor promotion of human rights and democratic freedoms; poverty or materialwell-being; the lack of moral and spiritual values or their existence anddevelopment; and the breakdown or development of human understanding, are notisolated phenomena that can be analyzed and tackled independently of oneanother. In fact, they are very much interrelated at all levels and need to beapproached with that understanding.
Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone whois dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflictedon a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost theirloved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboringcountry. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where thepeople are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. True peace withoneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through thedevelopment of mental peace. The other phenomena mentioned above are similarlyinterrelated. Thus, for example, we see that a clean environment, wealth ordemocracy mean little in the face of war, especially nuclear war, and thatmaterial development is not sufficient to ensure human happiness.
Material progress is of course important for human advancement. In Tibet, wepaid much too little attention to technological and economic development, andtoday we realize that this was a mistake. At the same time, materialdevelopment without spiritual development can also cause serious problems. Insome countries too much attention is paid to external things and very littleimportance is given to inner development.
I believe both are important and must be developed side by side so as toachieve a good balance between them. Tibetans are always described by foreignvisitors as being a happy, jovial people. This is part of our nationalcharacter, formed by cultural and religious values that stress the importanceof mental peace through the generation of love and kindness to all otherliving sentient beings, both human and animal. Inner peace is the key: if youhave inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peaceand tranquillity. In that state of mind you can deal with situations withcalmness and reason, while keeping your inner happiness. This is veryimportant. Without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life ismaterially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because ofcircumstances.
Clearly, it is of great importance, therefore, to understand theinterrelationship among these and other phenomena to approach and attempt tosolve problems in a balanced way that takes these different aspects intoconsideration. Of course it is not easy. But it is of little benefit to try tosolve one problem if doing so creates an equally serious new one. So really wehave no alternative: we must develop a sense of universal responsibility notonly in the geographic sense, but also in respect to the different issues thatconfront our planet.
Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or withthose who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies witheach of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us.When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When ourcommunity is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboringcommunities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness towards others, it notonly makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to developinner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously workto develop feelings of love and kindness. For some of us, the most effectiveway to do so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religiouspractices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take ourresponsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live inseriously. I am very encouraged by the developments which are taking placearound us.
After the young people of many countries, particularly in northern Europe,have repeatedly called for an end to the dangerous destruction of theenvironment which was being conducted in the name of economic development, theworld's political leaders are now starting to take meaningful steps to addressthis problem. The report to the United Nations Secretary General by the WorldCommission on the Environment and Development (the Brundtland report) was animportant step in educating governments on the urgency of the issue. Seriousefforts to bring peace to war-torn zones and to implement the right toself-determination of some peoples have resulted in the withdrawal of Soviettroops from Afghanistan and the establishment of independent Namibia. Throughpersistent non-violent popular efforts dramatic changes, bringing manycountries closer to real democracy, have occurred in many places, from Manilain the Philippines to Berlin in East Germany. With the Cold War era apparentlydrawing to a close, people everywhere live with renewed hope. Sadly, thecourageous efforts of the Chinese people to bring similar change to theircountry was brutally crushed last June. But their efforts, too, are a source ofhope. The military might has not extinguished the desire for freedom and thedetermination of the Chinese people to achieve it. I particularly admire thefact that these young people who have been taught that power flows from thebarrel of the gun, chose, instead, to use non-violence as their weapon.
What these positive changes indicate is that reason, courage, determination,and the inextinguishable desire for freedom, can ultimately win. In thestruggle between forces of war, violence and oppression on the one hand, andpeace, reason and freedom in the other, the latter are gaining the upper hand.This realization fills us Tibetans with hope that some day we too will onceagain be free.
The awarding of the Nobel Prize to me, a simple monk from far away Tibet, herein Norway, also fills us Tibetans with hope. It means that, despite the factthat we have not drawn attention to our plight by means of violence, we havenot been forgotten. It also means that the values we cherish, in particularour respect for all forms of life and the belief in the power of truth, aretoday recognized and encouraged. It is also a tribute to my mentor, MahatmaGandhi, whose example is an indication that this sense of universalresponsibility is developing. I am deeply touched by the sincere concern shownby so many people in this part of the world for the suffering of the people ofTibet. That is a source of hope not only for us Tibetans, but for alloppressed peoples.
As you know, Tibet has, for forty years, been under foreign occupation. Today,more than a quarter of a million Chinese troops are stationed in Tibet. Somesources estimate the occupation army to be twice this strength. During thistime, Tibetans have been deprived of their most basic human rights, includingthe right to life, movement, speech, worship, only to mention a few. More thanone sixth of Tibetís population of six million died as a direct result of theChinese invasion and occupation. Even before the Cultural Revolution started,many of Tibet's monasteries, temples and historic buildings were destroyed.Almost everything that remained was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.I do not wish to dwell on this point, which is well documented. What isimportant to realize, however, is that despite the limited freedom grantedafter 1979 to rebuild parts of some monasteries, and other such tokens ofliberalization, the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people are stilltoday being systematically violated. In recent months this bad situation hasbecome even worse.
If it were not for our community in exile, so generously sheltered andsupported by the Government and people of India, and helped by organizationsand individuals from many parts of the world, our nation would today be littlemore than a shattered remnant of a people. Our culture, religion and nationalidentity would have been effectively eliminated. As it is, we have builtschools and monasteries in exile and have created democratic institutions toserve our people and preserve the seeds of our civilization. With thisexperience, we intend to implement full democracy in a future free Tibet.Thus, as we develop our community in exile on modern lines, we also cherishand preserve our own identity and culture and bring hope to millions of ourcountrymen and women in Tibet.
The issue of most urgent concern at this time is the massive influx of Chinesesettlers into Tibet. Although in the first decades of occupation aconsiderable number of Chinese were transferred into the eastern parts ofTibet in the Tibetan provinces of Amdo (Chinghai) and Kham (most of which hasbeen annexed by neighboring Chinese provinces) since 1983 an unprecedentednumber of Chinese have been encouraged by their government to migrate to allparts of Tibet, including central and western Tibet (which the PRC refers toas the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region). Tibetans are rapidly being reducedto an insignificant minority in their own country. This development, whichthreatens the very survival of the Tibetan nation, its culture and spiritualheritage, can still be stopped and reversed. But this must be done now, beforeit is too late.
The new cycle of protest and violent repression, which started in Tibet inSeptember of 1987 and culminated in the imposition of martial law in thecapital, Lhasa, in March of this year, was in large part a reaction to thistremendous Chinese influx. Information reaching us in exile indicates that theprotest marches and other peaceful forms of protest are continuing in Lhasaand a number of other places in Tibet, despite the severe punishment andinhumane treatment given to Tibetans detained for expressing their grievances.The number of Tibetans killed by security forces during the protests in March,and of those who dies in detention afterwards, is not known but is believed tome more than two hundred. Thousands have been detained or arrested andimprisoned, and torture is commonplace.
It was against this background of this worsening situation, and in order toprevent further bloodshed, that I proposed what is generally referred to asthe Five Point Peace Plan for the restoration of peace and human rights inTibet. I elaborated on the plan in a speech in Strasbourg last year. I believethe plan provides a reasonable and realistic framework for negotiations withthe People's Republic of China. So far, however, China's leaders have beenunwilling to respond constructively. The brutal suppression of the Chinesedemocracy movement in June of this year, however, reinforced my view that anysettlement of the Tibetan question will only be meaningful if it is supportedby adequate international guarantees.
The Five Point Peace Plan addresses the principal and interrelated issueswhich I referred to in the first part of this lecture. It calls for
- Transformation of the whole of Tibet, including the eastern provinces ofKham and Amdo, into a Zone of Ahimsa (non-violence);
- Abandonment of China's population transfer policy;
- Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democraticfreedoms;
- Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment; and
- Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and ofrelations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. In the Strasbourg address Iproposed that Tibet become a fully self-governing democratic political entity.
I would like to take this opportunity to explain the Zone of Ahimsa or peacesanctuary concept, which is the central element of the Five Point Peace Plan.I am convinced that it is of great importance not only for Tibet, but forpeace and stability in Asia. It is my dream that the entire Tibetan plateaushould become a free refuge where humanity and nature can live in peace and inharmonious balance. It would be a place where people from all over the worldcould come to seek the true meaning of peace within themselves, away from thetensions and pressures of much of the rest of the world. Tibet could indeedbecome a creative centre for the promotion and development of peace.
The following are key elements of the proposed Zone of Ahimsa:
- The entire Tibetan plateau would be demilitarized;
- The manufacture, testing, and stockpiling of nuclear weapons and otherarmaments on the Tibetan plateau would be prohibited;
- The Tibetan plateau would be transformed into the world's largest natural parkor biosphere. Strict laws would be enforced to protect wildlife and plantlife; the exploitation of natural resources would be carefully regulated so asnot to damage relevant ecosystems; and a policy of sustainable developmentwould be adopted in populated areas;
- The manufacture and use of nuclear power and other technologies which producehazardous waste would be prohibited;
- National resources and policy would be directed towards the active promotionof peace and environmental protection. Organizations dedicated to thefurtherance of peace and to the protection of all forms of life would find ahospitable home in Tibet;
- The establishment of international and regional organizations for thepromotion and protection of human rights would be encouraged in Tibet.
In order to reduce existing tensions in Asia, the President of the SovietUnion, Mr. Gorbachev, proposed the demilitarization of Soviet-Chinese bordersand their transformation into Ïa frontier of peace and good-neighborliness.The Nepal government had earlier proposed that the Himalayan country of Nepal,bordering on Tibet, should become a zone of peace, although that proposal didnot include demilitarization of the country.
For the stability and peace of Asia, it is essential to create peace zones toseparate the continent's biggest powers and potential adversaries. PresidentGorbachev's proposal, which also included a complete Soviet troop withdrawalfrom Mongolia, would help to reduce tension and the potential forconfrontation between the Soviet Union and China. A true peace zone must,clearly, also be created to separate the world's two most populous states,China and India.
The establishment of the Zone of Ahimsa would require the withdrawal of troopsand military installations from Tibet, which would enable India and Nepal alsoto withdraw troops and military installations from the Himalayan regionsbordering Tibet. This would have to be achieved by international agreements.It would be in the best interest of all states of Asia, particularly China andIndia, as it would enhance their security, while reducing the economic burdenof maintaining high troop concentrations in remote areas.
Tibet would not be the first strategic area to be demilitarized. Parts of theSinai Peninsula, the Egyptian territory separating Israel and Egypt, have beendemilitarized for some time. Of course, Costa Rica is the best example of anentirely demilitarized country.
Tibet would also not be the first area to be turned into a natural preserve orbiosphere. Many parks have been created throughout the world. Some verystrategic areas have been turned into natural peace parks. Two examples arethe La Amistad Park, on the Costa Rica-Panama border and the SiAPaZ project onthe Costa Rica-Nicaragua border.
When I visited Costa Rica earlier this year, I saw how a country can developsuccessfully without an army, to become a stable democracy committed to peaceand the protection of the natural environment. This confirmed my belief thatmy vision of Tibet in the future is a realistic plan, not merely a dream.
Let me end with a personal note of thanks to all of you and our friends whoare not here today. The concern and support which you have expressed for theplight of the Tibetans has touched us all greatly, and continues to give uscourage to struggle for freedom and justice; not through the use of arms, butwith the powerful weapons of truth and determination. I know that I speak onbehalf of all the people of Tibet when I thank you and ask you not to forgetTibet at this critical time in our country's history. We too hope tocontribute to the development of a more peaceful, more humane and morebeautiful world. A future free Tibet will seek to help those in needthroughout the world, to protect nature, and to promote peace. I believe thatour Tibetan ability to combine spiritual qualities with a realistic andpractical attitude enables us to make a special contribution, in howevermodest a way. This is my hope and prayer.
In conclusion, let me share with you a short prayer which gives me greatinspiration and determination:
For as long as space endures,
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I, too, abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama --- Submitted by Mike Scullin --- New York