Address by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama

On the National Mall, Washington, D.C., July 2, 2000

DALAI LAMA: Hello. Good morning. Thank you. Quite hot, isn't it? Dear brothers and sisters, I am extremely happy to be here with you. I think it's a special occasion. There's some kind of city festival for Tibetan culture, culture thing. So, I feel quite proud, and I want to express to all the concerned people, they really worked hard. So, thank you very much.

And then also the large gathering that came here, I much appreciate. But at the same time, those individuals who come here, of course, if you come just with a curiosity, that is OK. No problem. I think it is better. If you are someone who comes here with some expectation, then you will get disappointed. And often I'm telling you, when I talk to audience, some people come here with some kind of belief that "The Dalai Lama have healing power." And, you see, somehow they're hoping to cure some of their own problems. That is a disaster. I have no sort of miracle power, nothing.

So, sometimes people call me a "living Buddha." That actually, that very term. "Living Buddha" is, I think, a mistake. In Tibetan words, lama or guru, there is no such meaning as a living Buddha. So that very term is mistake. Some people say "the god king"; that is, of course, obviously meaningless. Here I want to communicate with you as another human brother, as a human being. See, we are the same. Basically, emotionally, mentally, or physically, we are the same human being.

So, according to my own experience, yes, you may find some usefulness to you, because we are the same, it's the same nature. I also have a lot of problems--emotional problems and physical problems also. You obviously have these same experiences. Then I think we--not only a human being, but all sentient beings, that means those living beings who have the experience of pains and suffering, and happiness and pleasure, all sentient beings, you see, have the same desire: to overcome something and to achieve happy life. And as far as having a right to existence is concerned, those, you see--even the trees, those other living things like trees, flowers--I think today grass here, I think messed up a little bit--but basically living things have the right to exist and develop.

So basically, all sentient beings have the same right to a happy life. We human beings from birth, everyone has the right to be happy person, and [have a] successful life.

As a matter of fact, I feel the very foundation of our existence is our hope. Where there is a hope, yes, we survive. Once we've lost our hope, then where is survival? Some times, you see, become difficult. So, therefore, the very purpose of our life, you can say is our happiness. It's our goal, our purpose of our life.

So now, I think the point which I want to share with you is: Happiness, pleasure, suffering, and pains mainly exist at a physical level, at the sensory level. That is common, even with animals. Animals also enjoy, when they have enough food and comfortable shelter. But then we human beings, I think what is different than animal is mainly human intelligence. I think that because of human intelligence, human beings have more ability. Our physical, compared with some other species of mammals, is small. Compared with some, our physical strength is weaker. But because of the intelligence, human being become more superior on this planet. So, because of the human intelligence, you see, that happened.

So similarly, because of human intelligence, we human being have greater potential in both construction and destruction. So because of that, you see, sometimes I say jokingly, telling audience that human beings, because of human intelligence, we are, I think the most troublemaker among the thousands, thousands of different species of mammals.

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