In a chaotic era with unemployment, poverty, homelessness, government corruption, and police and psychiatric medical-legal brutality at all time highs there has been a search for spiritual awareness among many people to help them cope with the harsh realities of the world. There has therefore been a warm appreciation among Buddhists in Syracuse for the recent comments by the Dalai Lama that Buddha has relevance in the modern world. The Buddhist Channel has reported "Buddha relevant in modern world: Dalai Lama."
The Dalai Lama has said that Buddhism has a special role to play in the modern world because unlike many other religious traditions, Buddhism uniquely puts forward the concept of independence which accords closely with the fundamental notions of modern science. The Dalai Lama has also elaborated on the importance of Buddhism as tool for promoting peace.
The Dalai Lama sees the 20th century as having been a century of war and violence and he hopes to envision Buddhists working together to make the the 21st century a century of peace. The Dalai Lama has commented "We can think of Buddhism in terms of three main categories - philosophy, science and religion. The religious part involves principles and practices that are of concern to Buddhism alone, but the Buddhist philosophy of interdependence as well as the Buddha science of mind and human emotions are of great benefit to everyone."
The Dalai Lama has gone on to say that while modern science has been successful in developing a sophisticated understanding of the physical world, which includes the subtle workings of the body and the brain, Buddhist science on the other hand has devoted itself to first-person understanding of many aspects of emotions which are areas that are still new to modern science. An appreciation for the positions of the Dalai Lama on the relevance of Buddha to the modern world makes the day to day coping with life in our chronically disturbed world easier for Buddhists.
