"Now I will try to speak directly to you through my broken English. In this
solemn ceremony I think my broken English may not suit, but in order to save
time and in order to communicate directly, I want to increase my courage to
speak my broken English to you.
"One of the unique things about humanity is the special human brain. We have
the capacity to think and to memorize. We have something that can have very
very special qualities.
"Because of that, education becomes very important. I believe that education is
like an instrument. Whether that instrument, that device, is used properly or
constructively or in a different way depends on the user. We have education on
the one hand; on the other hand, we have a good person. A good person means
someone with a good heart, a sense of commitment, a sense of responsibility.
Education and the warm heart, the compassion heart - if you combine these two,
then your education, your knowledge, will be constructive. Then you are
yourself then becoming a happy person.
"If you have only education and knowledge and a lack of the other side, then
you may not be a happy person, but a person of mental unrest, of frustration.
This will always happen. Not only that, but if you combine these two, your
whole life will be a constructive and happy life. And certainly you can make
immense benefit for society and the betterment of humanity. That is one of my
fundamental beliefs: that a good heart, a warm heart, a compassionate heart, is
still teachable. Please combine these two.
"Then there is another thing I want to tell you. You have achieved your goal,
and now you are ready to begin another chapter. Now you really start real life.
Real life may be more complicated. It is bound to face some unhappy things and
hindrance and obstacles, complications. So it is important to have
determination and optimism and patience. If you lack patience, even when you
face some small obstacle, you lose courage. There is a Tibetan saying, 'Even if
you have failed at something nine times, you have still given it effort nine
times.' I think that's important. Use your brain to analyze the situation. Do
not rush through it, but think. Once you decide what to do about that obstacle,
then there's a possibility that you will achieve your goal.
"Here we are now entering another new century. I believe humanity during this
century has experienced some surprising and great achievements in the fields of
technology and science. Then in the meantime, there are other experiences that
have been awful. In this century, the greatest number of humanity have been
killed through violence, including war and other forms of violence [then in any
previous century]. And I think the ecological damage has been very serious. But
through these experiences, humanity is becoming more mature.
"I think one indication of that maturity is the evident concern for peace,
nonviolence, and human rights. Even in the politicians' statements now, you
hear the words 'compassion' and 'reconciliation.' Peace is now becoming more
mainstream. I think these are the signs. Everywhere we hear of unhappy things
in every part of the world, but if we judge all, I think there are many signs
of hope. But in any case, the future of humanity entirely depends on our own
shoulders. You have completed a good preparation for a better future. You must
have what I call a sense of global responsibility.
www.humanity.org/voices/commencements/speeches/index.php?page=dalailama_at_emory
