August 13th 2015

I would like to thank all my friends in the many different countries of the world for your greetings on the occasion of my 80th birthday. I am grateful for the kind words you have expressed.

As you know, my life is dedicated to the service of all sentient beings, and in particular I try to help my fellow human beings in whatever way I can.

What unites all sentient beings is that we all naturally seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. Therefore, we have a collective responsibility to try to bring about the well-being and happiness of all living beings and help them overcome their suffering.

This is the basis of hope on which I make an appeal that we all work enthusiastically to promote ethical values imbued with love and compassion and that we do our best to reduce, if not eliminate, the conflicts and violence that currently beset many parts of the world. Despite differences in their philosophical views, all the world's major religious traditions convey the same message of love and compassion. This is why we must strive to foster inter-religious harmony for the good of all humanity. In addition, to protect our natural environment we have to work together.

The Dalai Lama