So, sometimes I mention that hatred prevents you from moving on—it chains you to the past. In fact, a key premise on which the concept of reconciliation is based is not to react with strong anger to events that have already passed.” As the Dalai Lama spoke, I could not help but think about the virtually infinite capacity of human beings to hold on to past grievances. It seemed to have no limit. Later, after returning home from Dharamsala, I began to notice, for instance, how in committing atrocities in the twenty-first century, Islamic extremists routinely dwell on events that happened many
...more
