Essay by Luke Foster
“We all have a social responsibility and have to be mindful of what we do and say.”
Aja Brown
After reading lots of transcripts of the Dalai Lamas talks and some of them over and over again, I realised that what is needed is for not just the world leaders but all of us to develop social responsibility. As no person can achieve a lot on their own but we can achieve amazing things if we work together not just for financial gain but for the longevity of the planet so future generations can live happily. Yes, money is important but more important is if this wealth in the developed world is shared with the developing world. At the moment around one quarter of the worlds, population doesn’t even have access to clean drinking water or clean water for hygiene.
“Other human beings have a right to peace and happiness that is equal to our own; therefore, we have a responsibility to help those in need. The past is past, and the future is yet to come. That means the future is in your hands – the future entirely depends on the present.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
All social responsibility means is having a warm heart and kindness not just to our immediate friends and family but towards all people we meet and most of all towards our enemies. The Dalai Lama says our enemies are our best teachers as they teach us patience, compassion and forgiveness but I take it one step further and say that I don’t have any enemies only people who I have a different opinion with or people with a different point of view. As then it puts you in a fantastic position to win over these people with a different point of view so they can become your friend and even if you decide to agree to disagree then you can each have deep respect and genuine concern for each other.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King
Whenever I read quotes by Martin Luther King it warms my heart and gives me hope that issues that he tried to overcome in his lifetime seemed insurmountable but in recent decades his dream from the I have a dream speech and years of campaigning have become reality and Barack Obama became president and Condoleezza Rice became secretary of state and race segregation in America is a thing of the past and he ignited a flame of hope for those discriminated against around the globe including in Australia which I have written about in detail before about the history of the civil rights movement in Australia.
So, in decades to come all the Dalai Lamas dreams of saving the environment and a world where anger and hatred prevail can be replaced by compassion, unconditional love and forgiveness, in other words all the positive emotions shall hopefully come true.
“The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another’s pain as one’s own, and to act to take that pain away. There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.” – John Connolly
So, in conclusion I feel we have the technology and foresight to see what will happen to us if we continue down this dangerous path of mis treating the environment, fighting with each other and an inhumane uneven distribution of the world’s food and wealth and access to medical care. However, I also have hope that we have the technology and global community to work together to solve these problems that sometimes seem insurmountable and conquer them so this beautiful planet can remain as our home forever. It’s in the small things that give me hope like admiring the site of a pod of whales breaching while I walk on the beach every morning or all the waves and smiles, I get while walking and feel peoples gentle compassion even though we have never met before.
