There has been a great deal of cause for concern about the future of mankind among Buddhists here in Syracuse. The economy has been erratic with high unemployment, homlessness, and hard crime. And many families have lost loved ones in foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore recent kind words of encouragement from the Dalai Lama about the future course of humanity have been welcomed by the Syracuse Buddhist community which is constantly working to improve the condition of mankind.
The Tibet Sun has reported "Dalai Lama 'optimistic' after 'century of violence'." HIs Holiness the Dalai Lama has recently said that he is "optimistic" about the course of humanity after a “century of violence”. The Dalai Lama has said “I’m optimistic humanity becomes more mature.”
The Dalai Lama has gone on to comment on the loss of many lives to violence in the last century. He has commented “Last century, we had lots of inventions, lots of developments. In the meantime, we had the biggest number of people killed of violence.” The Buddhist spiritual leader has referred to the 20th century as “a century of violence”.
However, the Dalai Lama has taken note of the anti-nuclear weapons movement and other peace movements and has also said that nevertheless “everywhere in the world, people got disgusted”. He has gone on to say “Last century, nobody talked of ecology until the later part. In the early part of the 20th century, people thought simply of material development." It is the feeling of the Dalai Lama that current problems such as terrorism “come from the past”. And towards the realization of a brighter future for mankind the Dalai Lama has stressed the vital importance of educating the young.
