With military tensions escalating around the world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Tuesday issued a public statement in which he commended a recent appeal for peace made by Pope Leo on Palm Sunday. The Tibetan spiritual leader underscored the necessity for dialogue, diplomacy, and mutual respect as the only sustainable path to conflict resolution, emphasizing that “violence only begets more violence.” 

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and with the US-Israeli war on Iran now in its second month, Pope Leo XIV dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to peace and the rejection of violence. Speaking before Catholics gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on 29 March, the pontiff reflected that God does not listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence: 

Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15). (The Holy See)

Endorsing the pope’s message, the Dalai Lama acknowledged that the sentiment was one very close to his own heart and that it spoke to essence of the teachings of all major religions.

“Indeed, whether we look to Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism or any of the world’s great spiritual traditions, the message is fundamentally the same: love, compassion, tolerance, and self-discipline,” His Holiness remarked. “Violence finds no true home in any of these teachings. History has shown us time and again that violence only begets more violence and is never a lasting foundation for peace.” (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet)

Referencing the ongoing violence Ukraine and the Middle East, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a long-time advocate for global disarmament, stressed the importance of recognizing the interconnected nature of all cultures and societies, transcending political affiliations.

“An enduring resolution to conflict, including the ones we see in the Middle East or between Russia and Ukraine, must be rooted in dialogue, diplomacy and mutual respect—approached with the understanding that, at the deepest level, we are all brothers and sisters,” His Holiness affirmed. (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet)

The Dalai Lama concluded: “I urge for and pray that the violence and conflicts may soon come to an end.” (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet)

The rise in authoritarian governments around the world has been accompanied by an increasing reliance on references to the messianic and apocalyptic elements of major Abrahamic faith traditions. Aggressors and retaliators alike in the Iran war have employed religious rhetoric to justify their use of violence. US officials have invoked evangelical exhortations in an attempt to rationalize their attacks on Iran, while Iranian government officials and religious leaders have been liberal in their use of religious and messianic narratives. 

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invoked religious imagery to legitimize military strikes across the Middle East. Similarly, Russia’s Orthodox Church has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a corrupted Western world.

See more

MESSAGE (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet)
HOMILY OF POPE LEO XIV (The Holy See)
US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges (The Guardian)
God on their side: how the US, Israel and Iran are all using religion to garner support (The Conversation)

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