The Dalai Lama was in Vancourver recently talking with mental health professionals about the effect of stress on health and well-being. He discussed his views on why violence occurrs and proposed some solutions on how to obtain a more peacful world.

The Dalai Lama replied that early stress in life from poverty or abuse leads to negative emotions such as fear, jealousy and anger which turn into violence. Essentially, the Dalai Lama believes world peace begins with inner peace, tolerance and compassion. He said that once people develop compassion, more meaningful dialogue can take place which will ultimately lead to a less violent world.

“In order to understand meaningful dialogue first you must understand others’ interests and you must respect them as your brothers and sisters and also consider them as a part of yourself,” he said.

He said he believed even a child who had suffered abuse could be healed by learning how to change his or her perspective from a negative one to a positive one.

His conceptualization of how violence develops is not to far off from several major psychological theories. Furthermore, some Buddhist ideaology is permeating the counseling world, particularly with Acceptance and Commitment therapy, which emphasizes self-acceptance and understanding. It’s great to see spiritual leaders consulting with psychological researchers, and hopefully he was able to inspire some future innovations to treatment as well as create a greater human understanding.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 12 Sep 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.