The countries “imposing” their thoughts and belief systems on other nations are creating a “big problem” in the world, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.
Delivering a keynote address at the opening of the Global Buddhism Summit in New Delhi, Modi, in an apparent message to the West, said: “According to Lord Buddha, one must look within themselves before preaching to others.”
‘Most Challenging’ of Times in the Current Century
Modi underscored that the Global Buddhism Summit was taking place at the “most challenging” of times in the century.
“There is a war between two countries. There is economic turmoil. Religious terrorism is attacking the soul of mankind. We also have the problem of climate change as we see glaciers are melting,” the Indian Prime Minister stated at the conference.
Modi said that solutions to all these global challenges lie in the teachings of Lord Buddha, which were enunciated thousands of years ago (Buddha existed around sixth to fifth century BC).
India, the birthplace of Buddhism, has always followed in the footsteps of Lord Buddha, Modi added.
“India gave to the world Buddha, not ‘Yuddha’ (war). I had proudly stated this at the United Nations (UN),” Modi highlighted in his speech.
He noted that Buddha has taught the mankind to “renunciate realisation of victory, defeats, fights, wars”. “Actual happiness lies in peace, in living together with peace,” the Indian leader concluded.
Actions of Some Countries ‘Exacerbated Climate Change Problem’
Dwelling on the theme of climate change during his address, Prime Minister Modi said that it was due to the actions of a few countries in the last century that the problem of climate change has been exacerbated.
“These countries stopped thinking of others. And now, they are blaming others for climate change. Had they followed the teachings of Buddha, climate change wouldn’t have been a problem,” he stated.
“Buddha teaches us to lead a sustainable life and to think about others,” Modi underscored.
He said that one must continue to working towards solving the climate change problem and these collective efforts would bear fruit in the future.
Modi stated that the Indian government has been guided by Buddha’s teachings and it reflected in some of the policies.
“Our ‘Mission LIFE (Lifestyle for Environment)' is inspired by Buddhist teachings as well,” stated Modi.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that the discussions at the Global Buddhism Summit over the next couple of days will contribute to finding solutions to the global challenges.