The Rediff Interview /The Dalai Lama

'Religious institutions and politics should be separate. If they are mixed there will be complications'

That is at the individual level. At the state level, they say religion should be kept separate from politics. But as religion affects everything you do, is it possible to separate the two?

As far as institutions are concerned, religious institutions and politics should be separate. If they are mixed there will be complications. But for religious-minded people to carry a responsibility, whether in administration or in politics or other areas, would be beneficial. Generally, if you see a genuine believer -- what people usually call god-fearing man -- in politics, you will find he has some kind of self-discipline, even though he may have all the power to do whatever he likes.

You have been in India now for something like 37 years. Has your stay here affected you at all? Has it given you any new insights, any others ideas about religion, about life?

Of course, being a refugee and no longer having to adhere to protocol, it becomes much, much easier to meet and talk and contact various people from different backgrounds. There is also no longer any room for pretensions. I think its brings one closer to reality. I think it is very, very useful to become realistic.

That is one thing. Then the spiritual aspect. In the last 37 years, I think I gained quite useful spiritual experiences. I also think I have made some contribution towards harmony among different religions, especially with Christianity and Judaism. And now among some Indian traditional religions -- with Jains and different Hindus.

Have you been meeting different religious leaders?

Oh yes. I do not try to propagate Buddhism. My whole thinking is how to make a contribution from my experience, from my tradition. Not to propagate. So nowadays, I get the feeling that many Christians and Jews, and to some extent some Muslims, think I am someone who accepts the harmony of other religions.

In fact, on a few occasions, some Christian organisations requested me to explain Christianity according to my Buddhist philosophy. They very much appreciated my views, though it proved to be a difficult task. The non-believer in creator trying to explain about the creator!

Do you believe in some kind of supreme reality?

No. But in a higher individual being, yes. Like Gautam Buddha and some others who eventually became enlightened. They achieved it through training, through transformation. So today, when compared to us, they are higher beings; we can seek some blessings and guidance from them.

There is another world, then -- a world of the spirit? Or is it the end after you are dead?

No, it is not the end. Buddhists believe in the rebirth theory.

But then there is an end to rebirth? Once you achieve nirvana?

Yes, it is the end of rebirth. But that does not mean the end of the person, of the being. The being is still there.

This interview first appeared in New India Digest. Readers who wish to subscribe to this bimonthly magazine on contemporary India may respond to New India Digest, Sahaydri Sadan, Tilak Road, Pune 411 030.

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