In April of 2016, the Dalai Lama flirted with the secular world when he tweeted out a message that said eduction trumps prayer and religious teachings. “The time has come for us to consider seriously how to change our way of life not through prayer or religious teaching, but through education,” he tweeted on April 18, 2016.
Now, he’s doubling down on those comments with another tweet that expresses skepticism about the ‘thoughts and prayers’ method. In a tweet posted this Friday, the Dalai Lama wrote that although he’s a widely renown religious figure, he doesn’t necessarily believe in the power of prayer.
“Although I am a Buddhist monk, I am skeptical that prayers alone will achieve world peace,” he tweeted. “We need instead to be enthusiastic and self-confident in taking action.”
Although I am a Buddhist monk, I am skeptical that prayers alone will achieve world peace. We need instead to be enthusiastic and self-confident in taking action.
— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) February 9, 2018
As The Friendly Atheist points out, the Dalai Lama also expressed a similar sentiment back in 2015 after the terrorist attacks in Paris. Speaking to the German newspaper Deutsche Welle in November of 2015, he said that the problem of terrorist violence cannot be solved “only through prayers,” adding that it’s illogical to ask God to solve a problem humans created.
“We need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values, of oneness and harmony,” he told DW. “If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will be different from the previous one. It is in everybody’s interest. So let us work for peace within our families and society, and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments.”
Now if we can only get him to admit that reincarnation is probably bullshit.
Featured image via Flickr
