even when you do the translation, you need to

see the subject matter which you are going to translate.

In many ways, for example, first

if you're going to translate the book you need to read carefully

the title of the book and the contents and index

of the book before reading anything and get some idea what

may be there in the rest of the book

and then if it is not so clear, you will develop a curiosty

which will help you go much more, you know,

smoothly when you actually read the different chapters.

It's really like if you want to see

the panoramic view of this beautiful land,

one way of seeing it is, seeing from the top of the mountain

or from the aeroplane, which I did,

then you are able to get a very panoramic like view,

but that panoramic view is very beautiful,

but if you

want to know the details that would not work.

You have to get down, go to specific places,

houses, ask questions and know all the details. So a translator first has to

have an idea about this,

how, what this whole book is about, what this whole chapter is about.

then you need to know about the specific chapters,

the specific, you know, paragraphs and so forth.

So that is more or less the art of translation and the beauty of doing

translation is that you are able to

go into the minds, some so many great thinkers

and you try to express those

beautiful thoughts in a different language

where people will also be able to understand those talks

exactly what that author

talked about and you are not supposed to be in between.

You should go away, you know, you do the job and go away from the scene.

And that is not easy, that is not easy because many translators, interpreters

they get in between and then, you know, put their thoughts in between

so that is doing a little bit of damage,

so therefore, the system, one has to be careful.

So similarly in life we need to have a panoramic view,

a view about the whole universe, the whole world

the whole cosmos and then it is not enough that you talk about

universal values, cosmic values and then fight with your neighbours.

You also need to be in harmony with your neighbour,

the members of your family and so forth, so that is why

you know, the process of translation is very much related to the topic that I am

going to speak -

inner disarmament for external disarmament.

I'm speaking on this topic, or trying to speak on this topic, not because

I want to do an intellect, you know academic talk

or something like that but I'm really sometimes concerned

if I think about what is happening in today's world,

despite so much material progress and development

still the leaders

and many people, their bent of mind is how to stop by arms.

Each country

is making more and more dangerous, complicated, sophisticated wars,

you know, weapons, with the thinking and idea if my neighbour does something nasty I

will be the one

who should destroy everything. Yes,

we have now the capacity to destroy everything.

We have all heard about biological warfare,

chemical warfare, smart bombs, what not.

Smart bombs, you throw a bomb, destroy all people,

but the building will be intact. Smart bomb, chemical warfare, you know,

biological warfare. So mean.

That you bring sacks and sacks and throw them into the field of your enemy -

unthinkable, you know.

We have have such destructive, nasty,

mind and we cannot

afford to do this continuously if we are

in the true sense of the term generally

intelligent human beings. We call ourselves

intelligent human beings. We will proudly call this

age, the age of information. Yes

you get lots of information, but

think carefully. Much of this information that you get today

is junk information,

junk mail

and in one of the Buddha's teaching he says, 'Don't make your mind

a garbage bin.'

We cannot afford to do this.

One of the Buddhist teachers says 'life is short',

there are too many things to do

and it is not possible for you to pay attention to everything,

it is not possible for you to learn everything and it is also not necessary

that you learn everything.

You should take those things which are good for you,

which are good for you family, which are good for your society,

which are good for the whole world.

After all, if you think about the meaning of human life -

this is a very, very important question to ask

before you ask any question. What is the meaning of human life

before you explore the stars, the planets.

And today we a very good at talking about the stars, the planets, how they

function.

We have all the details you see, but when there is a tragedy there is a difficulty.

We are dumbfounded, we are not able to solve it.

We have all the ways and means to keep in touch with

external things but we are not in touch with oneself.

There are many people who say I have everything but something is missing.

I feel something is missing from me. I feel some,

you know, emptiness, hollowness inside.

This is true because you never keep in touch with your self,

because you never replenished your internal resources, you have

never strengthened your internal resources.

That is why despite having everything,

you feel empty, you feel lonely

you feel dependent on others all the time.

The problem of modern society is that we neither know

how to live with others nor we know how to live alone.

That is the problem.

On almost each and every occasion when I speak to the people

I ask a very simple, direct question.

'Do you all want happiness?'

I'm asking the same question to you. Do you all want happiness?

Everybody says yes, except one

or two maybe bit different reasons or maybe extremely clever or whatever.

But everybody says yes, we all want happiness.

For how many day? I ask the next question.

You want happiness but for how many days?

They all laugh. They all laugh

because

as far as the question of getting happiness and peace is concerned

it is not a question of experiencing it just for a few months, a few days.

At least for this whole life you want that reliable peace and happiness

and if you are a believer in the future lives like the Buddhist

and other

spiritual traditions, then you need to plan in such a way

that you have that peace and happiness for many lives to come.

You need to have this master plan.

Should this wish to have happiness,

rather reliable long lasting happiness

and the wish not to have any suffering and any problem at all

this is something, this is not something that we learn from our religious

traditions.

This is our inborn art.

This is something that we all, no matter from which country you come from,

which religion you belong to, man and woman, doesn't really matter, whatever is

your affiliation,

we are all the same in that. First of all

understand this message, this basic reality.

Another question that I repeatedly ask people is,

After the birth, what is the first job that the child does after the

birth?

The first job that the child does after the birth is not laughing,

crying against him.

The first thing that the child does is crying - American child, Tibetan child, Chinese child.

Whoever, same, interesting. Isn't that interesting?

Crying, believe me that

when the child cries I am

hundred percent sure that the child is not asking for a lengthy discourse on Buddhism

or on any religion.

The child is simply asking for mother's milk which means

somebody's unconditional love and affection.

When I talk about internal disarmament

it's the only dimension. We have so many threats,

stockpiling of arms, external

weapons, arms, nuclear bombs so forth.

How can we reduce this stockpiling of arms and do away with them?

We can do that only if we become a good human being

with unconditional love for others.

Understanding that basic reality.

This is how we all came into this world

and on the day

when we leave this world

at that time also your main concern is, I am sure, in the case of the majority of the

people,

your main concern is not money, not wealth,

not name, not fame. There is so much in between,

we do so much, we

in between, but at the time of