Since when I left Tibet in 1963 to when I first returned in 1987 upon the kind invitation of H.H.The 10th Panchen Lama, until today I have had the opportunity to witness the development and progress in our country in so many ways, such as new highways, roads, bridges, railways, telephone, electricity, education etc and I like to thank the Central Government for improving the local living conditions.

No doubt that this has benefited the people, as material needs are real and need to be addressed. There is no doubt that material progress is essential to human transformation.

Many times I have publicly acknowledged the importance of recent developments in Tibet, materially and spiritually, where the lives of people are made easier and the population has the opportunity to satisfy its basic needs. Making life easier to unfold is essential at this moment when the Tibetan people are affected by economic progress and change everywhere, inside and outside China.

Furthermore, I like to take this opportunity to thank the Chinese Government for having granted me the possibility to return to Tibet many times and to reconstruct Gangchen Choepeling Monastery (that had been established by Panchen Zangpo Tashi in the 15th century) and in my small way help the local people by constructing several small schools and dispensaries. I deeply appreciate that until today the traditional Tibetan culture and spirituality is kept alive. This is understood in the traditional sense of teachings and practices in the monasteries. But also I see as essential to open up this education to the understanding of modern economic development and alternative forms of progress. In particular, this could mean to put at the disposal of the traditional Tibetan culture all the progress made in such areas as electronics, communications, networks, management skills, computer technology etc.

In this way the precious ancient culture could maybe more easily be supported and find new ways to become of benefit to the modern busy 21st century society worldwide.

China has a very unique opportunity, as it has deeply rooted ancient traditions and cultures of 54 ethnic minorities and at present has the fastest growing economy.

As my experience during the last decades in the West has shown me, material development alone is not enough to develop a healthy society. The world at large already suffers many of the disastrous side effects of this rather one sided development, such as the exploitation of natural resources, global warming, sicknesses like HIV, By placing great emphasis on the protection and preservation of the ethnical cultural traditions and initiatives such as the First World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou earlier this year, China could become a very special example to the modern world of how to create a balanced society that has two wings to fly; namely the economic and the spiritual.

China has exceptional spiritual wealth of its numerous ancient traditions. Moreover in these modern times, the Chinese government has shown great respect towards the spiritual heritage by, for example, officially warranting the reincarnation of H.H. The 10th Panchen Lama as The 11th Panchen Erdini and many other important reincarnations.

In some sense, everywhere in the world, there is a keen interest in the central themes of this Forum: protect and promote traditional Tibetan culture. Why so much interest in the Tibetan culture?? There are many ancient cultures that capture people interest such as the Greek culture, the Mayan and Inca cultures of Central and Latin America etc., but what is it that creates this special interest in the Tibetan culture? In my opinion and experience it is the deep spiritual message of Buddhism that still today is alive. We may visit thousands of archeological or ethnical museums or perfectly preserved and restored ancient monuments of any tradition, however this is not the same as getting in touch with a living tradition where every aspect of the culture still carries its intrinsic meaning and significant function for its people. Today, China is the treasure holder of this precious-Tibetan gem and has the good fortune to preserve it as a cultural world heritage and share with the rest of world.

Many people travel from very distant places to go to the sacred land of Tibet, because they feel they might still find there, on the roof of the world, what they are missing in their lives. Somehow, to many this ancient tradition still offers hope in this modern distressed world. We may ask ourselves: why? Is this not a clear indication that modern development is not enough, people have everything, they have even managed to fly to the moon, but this has not improved their lives. They still suffer from anxiety, fear, pain, nervousness, etc etc, they still are searching somewhere else for peace. We come to the same question that Buddha asked himself 2500 years ago, how to find relief from suffering? And here we find that the ancient cultures and traditions, and in particular our Tibetan spiritual tradition has so much to offer that can help this world. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep this tradition alive, not only as knowledge and beautiful historic monuments, but as a living wisdom tradition that can benefit people to live with less suffering and with more peace and harmony. As it was so fittingly chosen as the theme of the First World Buddhist Forum: A harmonious world begins in the mind.

In this context the traditional Tibetan culture can serve as a valuable guide and contribute to modern economic progress and human resource development.

There are several aspects that are rather unique to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and in particular the Tibetan Vajrayana spiritual tradition that could be of great use and deep significance to promoting peace and harmony as well as environmental care:

The tradition contains systematic methods and many instruments to develop mental peace and values that promote the development of wholesome qualities in the human mind. Furthermore the ten Buddhist Inner -Sciences or the Ten Fields of Knowledge and Wisdom, constitute a most valuable treasure that can be applied and verified by mere logic and scientific research independent of faith or belief. This is why it is most appropriate for modern society and many scientists have shown great interest. Albert Einstein said:

If there is any religion that would cope with the modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.

These teachings are passed down through an unbroken lineage over generations and thus carry the authentic essence of the meaning, which is why they are still so effective today. It is very necessary to promote and maintain this precious transmission to pass it on to the future generations. For this to be possible ancient meditation places and retreat caves need to be kept sacred and protected. As it is in these places that practitioners have attained enlightenment and developed unlimited compassion, where very pure and powerful energy has been created and still resonates the blessings today. Such sanctuaries must be safeguarded as cultural heritages of the highest human achievements. Tibet is rich in such places and it is not without reason that so many people when they travel to Tibet, believers or not, they feel something special. Once I had the good fortune to meet with His Excellency the President of Venezuela, he told me a story, that before his electoral speech he happened to travel to Tibet, as he set foot on Tibetan ground, he felt a special blessing and that his speech would be successful, and so it was, he was elected President.

This special blessing power of this ancient tradition, that so many people still feel today, should never be lost, but continue to benefit people from everywhere now and in future generations.

Our Central Government is doing a lot to support the Tibetan culture, which is very admirable, at the same time, maybe a little attention to safeguard these small sanctuaries and to support those who keep the authentic traditions alive for the future by whishing to meditate or give transmissions could be so beneficial. Nowadays the world is plagued by so many sickness, natural disasters, instability and unrest that any transmission is like one light that dispels one darkness, I believe it could help our society enormously and make life easier.

In a small way through The Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation, a United Nations affiliated Non-Governmental Organization, as well as several branch organizations, we have tried to promote and preserve the Tibetan culture in many areas such as: publications, the Self-Healing practice for body and mind as well as for the environment, medicine, charm dance, wood carving and furniture making, tangka paintings, incense production, exhibitions of Tibetan artifacts and medical herbs, sand mandalas, peace media, songs and much more. LGWPF has organizes such activities in many countries such as Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, Uruguay, and all over Europe.

All of the above has benefited thousands of people and it has been done without any political involvement whatsoever.

All the activities mentioned above demand significant material resources and money. Until today we work on a small scale through the help of many individual sponsors and the Help in Action program, but the scale needed today requires much more resources, and the commitment of the private sector, civil society, academies, unions, and all forms of social organizations.

We will continue working diligently and relentlessly to protect and promote traditional Tibetan culture and spirituality. Personally I have also many experiences of the great benefit of Tibetan Medicine and greatly rejoice in the promotion of this precious traditional medical system, such as through the Tibetan Medical Institute in Beijing and hope similar smaller activities could be developed also abroad, such as we have proposed in Italy. We also have many other initiatives such as the project of constructing a peace Culture Museum a wisdom Planetarium in Italy in memory of H.H. The 10th Panchen Lama, the proposal for the creation of United Nations Spiritual Forum for World Peace, where major spiritual leaders may have a voice to exchange and to promote Inner Peace as the most solid Foundation for World Peace? Further we work for the protection of the natural environments such as the Amazon, which is one of the most essential natural resource for life on our planet.

In the last fife decades, Tibetan culture has reached the five continents. Many lamas have worked hard and without any political interest to spread this precious culture and tradition and to preserve it in the Western world. At the same time however, there is a lack of understand of the developments in Tibet/China. Many people simply do not know of the great efforts that have been undertaken, in the last decade in particular, to preserve the Tibetan cultural heritage in Tibet itself. The central government has poured large sums of money into the Tibetan Autonomous Region, not only to construct roads, communications etc but also to restore some of its major monasteries such as the Potala Palace (where I was kindly invited for the 1st reconstruction ceremony in 1994), Samye and Sakya monastery etc. Furthermore, the importance of the China Tibetan Research Centre, established already in 1986 by H.H. The 10th Panchen Lama, in Beijing is little known in the West although it has produced outstanding works such as the complete 120 volume publication of the Tenguyr texts and still is to complete the Kanguyr as well as so many others, not to mention the work in other fields like Tibetan Medicine, etc. In 1987 H.H. The 10th Panchen Lama established the China Senior Buddhist Institute of Tibetan Language in Beijing, where the first official Geshe Torampa Title-conferring ceremony was held in October 2005. The establishment of the China Association for the Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture in 2004 further demonstrates China attention to the Tibetan culture.

Lastly, please continue to develop the Tibetan culture inside and outside of Tibet/China and to promote unity. And please kindly support the nurturing of the seeds of Tibetan culture that we have planted overseas.

Lama Gangchen, Chairman of world peace Foundation Affiliated to the United Nations

Oct. 11, 2006