Dalai Lama visits US: Religions are "more or less the same"

The Dalai Lama has been visiting Washington this week and recently made a speech to 16,000 people in the city.

"In order to have genuine faith, you need to have one truth, one religion. But that does not mean you lose respect for those of other traditions," the self-described "simple Buddhist monk" said.

Religions become counter-productive to world order when they neglect the fundamental values of compassion, kindness and self-discipline that make them "more or less the same," he said.

"If a religion only creates problems, I think we have the right to append that religion," he said.

Source

What kind of "problems" would a religion have to create in order for us to "append" it? I mean really, there is no way (at least right now, though I it will come soon) to enforce such an idea. First you would have to determine how to define a problem, then start to identify the religions that cause such problems, and quite frankly people aren't going to give up their faiths easily.

What would be considered a problem? Probably all those who hold to the view that their religion is the right religion and refuse to bow down to other gods. I don't imagine we'll see the Buddhists getting chased down for being to "narrow minded" but I'm sure that religions such as Judaism, Islam, and especially Christianity will be viewed as such. After all Christian's narrow minded belief that Christ is the only way to heaven sure doesn't sound very accepting.

But the time is coming where his ideas will become policy. The world is becoming more and more hostile to the idea that Christ is the only way. They demand that we have to accept everyone and everything they do, and those of us who take issue with the immoral behavior and beliefs of the world are viewed as hateful hypocrites. After all Christ said "judge not lest ye be judged" right? They insist Christ accepted people as they are, no matter what, and loved them right then.

And that is true, Christ did love us while we were lost and full of sin. But he certainly did not intend for us to stay and continue doing our sinful, lustful behaviors. He told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more, He told us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. But the time is coming when those facts will be largely ignored, indeed it is taking place already.

So what do we do? Do we go along and keep our mouths shut about sin like the world would have us do? Or do we draw unto the Lord and continue to seek and proclaim Him to the world that so desperately needs to know Him? Christ told us to go out and make disciples, in order to truly do that the issue of someone's sin will come up and it is not something to strink from. You can lovingly address sin in someone's life, we need not be afraid to mention sin for fear of chasing them off. After all, if you don't tell them they are a sinner, how will you be able to explain the need for Christ's redemptive death? Christ said to go out and make disciples, He also said that those who love Him will do His commandments. He said not to worry about tomorrow, after all we have enough to deal with today, and indeed He warned us that a time was coming when brother would rise up against brother. We will be driven from the "synagogue" but we are to hold fast until the end.