14th Dalai Lama

Speech Analysis Regardless of background and upbringing, human beings all desire the same thing. Differences based on culture and ethnicity are insignificant variables on the path of humanities one true goal. The goal for every human is to achieve their own unique version of happiness. The 14th Dalai Lama believes that all humans ultimately seek happiness, however their ways of attaining happiness differentiates from person to person. On December 10, 1989 the 14th Dalai Lama delivered his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo Norway. The Dalai Lama is revered as the head monk of Tibetan Buddhism. Before the Chinese government took control of Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama’s role included governing the nation. Since then the Tibetan people
Ours has been a long struggle.”. On this topic the 14th Dalai Lama uses a tone of melancholy in order to convey the Tibetan people’s condition. Further in his speech the 14th Dalai Lama addresses the coexistence of humans and the universal desire of happiness, “As we enter the final decade of this century I am optimistic that the ancient values that have sustained mankind are today reaffirming themselves to prepare us for a kinder, happier twenty-first century.”. Here the 14th Dalai Lama shows optimism towards the subject. He also shows concern for the well-being of our society, “The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort”. Tibetan Buddhism, with which the Dalai Lama holds leadership, emphasizes the importance of all sentient life and to alleviate all
The 14th Dalai Lama’s organizes his speech by providing a statement then follows it with a conflicting statement, “People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment…”. The 14th Dalai Lama goes into detail on the previous peaceful relationship between Tibet and China. Here uses imagery in order to describe a shrine in Tibet that commemorated the once held relationship, “…carved on the pillar which still stands today in front of the Jo-khang, Tibet's holiest shrine, in Lhasa, that ‘Tibetans will live happily in the great land of Tibet, and the Chinese will live happily in the great land of China’.”. Throughout the speech the usage the words “happiness” and “peace” were prevalent. These are some of the cornerstones of Tibetan Buddhism, values with which the 14th Dalai Lama holds dear. The 14th Dalai Lama’s speech was held in high regard by most of the international community. It was described as paramount example human love and compassion. At the time, Chinese leaders called the speech “preposterous” and thought it was a negative influence on the people of China. In 1989, the year of the speech, an internal conflict between the democracy and communism was taking place in China. It was looked upon as an attempt by the western society