The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader with millions of followers, so it might come as a surprise to hear that he thinks prayer is not the answer to our problems. In the wake of the Paris attacks, he said people should not expect God to help achieve peace, because we caused the problems ourselves.
In an interview with the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle, he reacted to the Paris attack by encouraging people to work together in their families and societies towards peace and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments.
“People want to lead a peaceful lives. The terrorists are short-sighted, and this is one of the causes of rampant suicide bombings.
We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place.
We need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values, of oneness and harmony. If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will be different from the previous one. It is in everybody's interest.
So let us work for peace within our families and society, and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments.”
He also added that today’s world issues “are the result of superficial differences over religious faiths and nationalities.”
