Prayers not enough to fight virus: Dalai Lama
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama yesterday said prayers were not enough to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“Ever since news emerged about the coronavirus in Wuhan, I have been praying for my brothers and sisters in China and everywhere else. Now we can see that nobody is immune to this virus. We are all worried about loved ones and the future, of both the global economy and our own individual homes. But prayer is not enough,” the Dalai Lama said.
“This pandemic serves as a warning that only by coming together with a co-ordinated, global response will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner yesterday said in a post on his official website.
“Sometimes friends ask me to help with some problem in the world, using some ‘magical powers’. I always tell them that the Dalai Lama has no magical powers. If I did, I would not feel pain in my legs or a sore throat. We are all the same as human beings, and we experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties,” he said.
“In this time of great fear, it is important that we think of the long-term challenges – and possibilities – of the entire globe. Photographs of our world from space clearly show that there are no real boundaries on our blue planet.
“Therefore, all of us must take care of it and work to prevent climate change and other destructive forces. This pandemic serves as a warning that only by coming together with a co-ordinated, global response will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face.
“We must also remember that nobody is free of suffering, and extend our hands to others who lack homes, resources or family to protect them. This crisis shows us that we are not separate from one another – even when we are living apart.