This is a book written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about how the world's religions can come together. I love this mission that the Dalai Lama has taken upon himself to help in the uniting of the world's religions. I think it is a very just and noble cause, and that if more people could embrace these ideas, many of the world's conflicts and even wars could be avoided.
He starts out writing about his own experience growing up in an all Buddhist community and thinking that his own religion must be the best. But in later years, and especially with his eventual exile in India, he came in contact with many other religions and began to understand just how deep, spiritual, and powerful the beliefs of each of these religions were. As he learned about these other religions he found that within practically all religions there is a strong belief based in showing compassion and love to others. However, this idea seems to clash with a lot of the ways people treat each other in these days because of differences in religion. This is not right, and something should be done to fix this. There is no easy way of convincing everyone to get along, but if enough individuals can adopt these ideas and demonstrate them for others, it is possible to make a change and to bring the world's religions closer together.
I would say that I have always tried to be respectful of other religions, but I know that I am guilty of thinking certain things others believe in or do are "weird" or "strange", simply because they are different from what I am used to. This shouldn't cause any sort of dramatic conflicts between me and people of other faiths, but it does sometimes cause me to distance myself or cut myself off from these people simply because I am uncomfortable around them. I'm guessing this is probably the issue that the majority of the world's population has. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but in reality, this distancing ourselves from other religions is probably one of the biggest barriers holding us back from making that step to bringing the world's religions together. The Dalai Lama talks about the very first step we need to take being to step outside our comfort zone and getting to know other religions. This is something he himself did when he came to India and got to know various other religions including Hinduism, Jainism, and Christianity. As he has learned about each of these religions, he has formed valuable friendships and a deep love for each individual religion.
In his book he invites everyone to learn more about Buddhism as well as all other religions. He explains that his goal here is not to convert people or get people to change their religion, but to strengthen their faith in their own religion. To help his readers gain a better understanding of the world's many religions, he takes the time to explain a few of them, to the best of his ability. Reading his descriptions of other religions, it is very clear that he has developed a love and appreciation for each of these, while still remaining a Buddhist. I think it is a common fear of most people that if we take the interest to look into other religions there is the "danger" that we might fall away from our own faith. But the Dalai Lama has presented that this simply isn't true, and I have found in my own experiences that he is right. Learning about other religions is a way to love and unterstand others as well as a way to better ourselves. As I have learned a great deal about Buddhism and Hinduism this semester I have seen a lot of similarities with my own faith, that at a first glance I never would have noticed were there. There are also things that I have believed in, but never realized it, until it was presented to me from a different angle. For example, meditation; I always thought this was a thing "other religions" did. But then as I learned more about it this semester from a number of different angles, I realized that meditation is something I deeply believe in. We just refer to it more often as "pondering", but it is essentially the same idea. As a result of this discovery, I have made it a goal to do more pondering/meditating this semester, and have failed to some extent because of all the homework I have had to do, but the few times that I have taken a moment to relax and just think to myself, I have found it can be a very spiritual and rewarding experience.
After reading this book, I sincerely hope that I can be someone who exemplifies the goal of the Dalai Lama to bring the world's religions together. Traveling to India this summer will be a great opportunity for me to practice this because I will be surrounded by religions other than my own, and I will have the chance to learn a great deal about them as well as from them. In learning about other's religions, I hope to gain a great love for the people, their own beliefs and also to bring myself nearer to God. In return I would hope that others would take an interest in my own religion. I will not be playing the role of a missionary on this field study, and will not be able to directly preach the gospel, but I do hope that I, and the people I meet, can develop a spiritual understanding that can grow and spread through many different people and religions.
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