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Dalai Lama stresses importance of Tibetan language

By Lobsang Wangyal

The Dalai Lama greets his followers at the start of day three of his teachings in Bodh Gaya, India, on 7 January 2010.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

The Dalai Lama spoke of the importance of Tibetan language in preserving the Buddhist faith, as he spoke to the people from the Himalayan region.

Addressing the devotees from the Himalayan region — Ladakh, Lahaul Spiti, Kinnaur, Sikkim, Bhutan, Mon Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and Nepal — he urged them to pay heed to the Tibetan language to be able to understand and practice Buddhism.

He said it would be difficult to translate the Buddhist teachings available in Tibetan into many local dialects.

The Tibetan leader praised the interests shown by the Sherpa and Tamang, two ethnic groups from the mountainous region of Nepal who practice Buddhism, to learn Tibetan language and Buddhist philosopy.

He said arrangements could be made to admit children from these ethnic groups who are interested to learn Tibetan, to Tibetan schools in India. As more and more Tibetan schools are built, the vacancies in these schools could accommodate children from the Himalayan region as they share same beliefs and culture with Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama also asked the people from the Himalayan region to pay attention to the environment and plant more trees. He said that global warming is affecting the Tibetan plateau and the Himalayan region more seriously.

Tibet experiences a higher temperature increase than other parts of the world. The average global temperature rise is said to be 0.02 °C per decade, whereas it is 0.03 °C per decade on the Tibetan plateau.

Melting icefields will trigger floods downstream in the immediate future and droughts in the long run.

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