On the occasion of Buddha Purnima, the Dalai Lama recalled Lord Buddha’s principles and disciples. The Tibetan spiritual leader urged people to pay more attention to Gautama Buddha’s words for “true peace of mind” in a video message organised by the International Buddhist Confederation and supported by the Ministry of Culture.

“I respect all religious traditions,” the Dalai Lama said, recalling Lord Buddha’s advice. They’re all valuable because they instil compassion. Only the Buddha, on the other hand, asks us to examine his teaching in the same way that a goldsmith examines gold purity. This is something only the Buddha commands.”

“Another of his main instructions was: ‘Sages do not wash away unwholesome deeds with water, nor do they remove the sufferings of sentient beings with their hands, nor do they transplant their own realisations into others; they liberate beings by teaching the truth of suchness,” he continued.

“It teaches the Four Noble Truths – true suffering, the origin of suffering, the true cessation of suffering, and the true path that leads to that cessation,” Dalai Lama said of Lord Buddha’s “Three Turning of the Wheels of Dharma.” This is the fundamental framework of the Buddha’s teaching.” Gautam Buddha gave the “cycle of teachings called the Perfection of Wisdom at Vulture’s Peak,” according to the Dalai Lama.

“The Buddha taught in these discourses that nothing has an inherent existence.” Some of his followers, however, found this difficult to comprehend. As a result, the Buddha taught that everything can be identified with the mind to address the difficulty some disciples have in understanding the lack of inherent existence, and to suit the intellectual calibre of such disciples,” he said.

The Dalai Lama went on to say that he is a “simple Buddhist monk following the Buddha’s tradition.” “As soon as I wake up, I recite ‘In Praise of Dependent Arising’ and reflect on the interdependent nature of things as well as the altruistic spirit of enlightenment,” he said of his morning routine.

Buddha Purnima, also known as Buddha Jayanti, Vaisakhi Buddha Purnima, or Vesak, is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of Gautam Buddha. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival takes place on a full moon day in the month of Vaisakh (April/May).