His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke in Madison Wednesday about nurturing unconditional love and compassion, and joked with moderator ABC News correspondent Dan Harris about his meditation habits.
On his 10th trip to Wisconsin, His Holiness made several stops in Madison before participating in a panelist discussion at the Overture Center on how understanding the science of well-being could benefit the world in the future.
Friend and associate of His Holiness Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin professor of psychology and psychiatry, said well-being is a scientifically investigated skill that can be understood through the four constituents of resilience, positive outlook, attention and generosity.
Each of these constituents play an important role in well-being and is associated with circuits in the brain that calm the mind and stress, Davidson said.
“This leads us to an inevitable conclusion, and it’s really a very simple one and a conclusion that we hope to build a social movement,” Davidson said. “That conclusion is simply that well-being is a skill.”
His Holiness answered questions from Harris, as well as panelists Soma Stout, external executive lead of 100 Million Healthier Lives, and Sona Dimidjian, University of Colorado associate professor of psychology and neuroscience.
The Dalai Lama discussed the importance of practicing love and compassion despite differences in religion or ideologies. His Holiness said peace is only possible through love and kindness, with weapons and anger being ineffective.
To promote this change, His Holiness said it must start with the individual. An individual can influence another person, and cause a snowball effect, leading to thousands affected.
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In addition, His Holiness said open discussion and dialogue is the best way to avoid violence because even those who are violent have a “seed of compassion.” But the Dalai Lama said this does not mean conflict will still not exist.
“Peace does not mean [no] potential of conflict, potential [for] conflict [is] always there,” His Holiness said.
When asked by Harris, with reference to his one-year-old son, what age is best to begin teaching mindfulness to children, His Holiness said as a father Harris knew best and laughed.
Through his light-hearted humor, the Dalai Lama delivered his message that through education and nurturing of both children and adults with unconditional love, achieving peace and well-being is possible.
Education should include teaching about inner values, His Holiness said, because world peace cannot be achieved without inner peace first.
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Before leaving, His Holiness said the individuals he has met and places he has been over the past couple of days have given him encouragement in his endeavors.
