仁波切在伦敦大学亚非学院的演说全文

“I am actually a little surprised and puzzled about being granted this honour because I don’t consider myself to have contributed to society. Of course, I have the aspiration to do so. Anyway, I am very humbled and grateful that the School of Oriental and African Studies even considered awarding me this honorary degree. I do hope that this will encourage a lot of others in the future to contribute to the society. 

As some of you may have guessed, I am groomed in a very traditional setting. So coming to this city, the city of London, and especially this school, is a very important chapter of my life. I have to confess I was not the best, ideal student. But this city and especially SOAS have opened my eyes in many, many different ways. For instance, the very word ‘Oriental’ seems to have lots of different meanings, among other things- carpet. And ‘Oriental’ also seems to have this connotation of being exotic, feminine, weak and vulnerable in contrast to the 'West' we would itself as rational, masculine and also powerful. It may be just my own projection, but I feel that Orientals like myself adopted this view so completely that we make every effort to see the world through the occidental eyes, occidental head, and occidental heart. 

To that end, we often forsake our oriental tradition both passively and aggressively. They have achieved this quite remarkably, I feel. I feel this is not the case in reverse. I can only hope that occidentals will try to appreciate oriental and African studies, not just from the position of power, but with real respect if not humility. If this happens, the definition of objectivity, which seems to be so important in Western academia, may carry a different meaning. 

I know that this degree comes with a lot of new responsibilities. So, as a newly inducted fellow of SOAS, I would like to dedicate myself to fostering this genuine empathy, which I believe is the core value of this institute. Thank you.”