- Your Holiness, you used to say that people are getting better: they show more and more compassion, they don’t want to fight, they preserve the nature. But now you declare that humanity lacks responsibility and the world is close to a catastrophe. Have you changed your mind being disillusioned with humanity?

- No, I have not changed my opinion. Every creature, even an insect, does not want to suffer, but wants to live life happily. And everyone has the right to be happy.
Moreover, - and this is very important - according to the latest data from science, by nature man is prone to compassion. It's obvious: in the first few years after the birth we need maternal love and care; without them we would not have survived. This applies to all social animals. We humans are social animals too. Collective feelings to a certain extent are inherent in us biologically. For millennia, people survived precisely because of a sense of community, mutual aid and caring for each other.
- Then what are the problems today?
- In today's world, there are problems that are beyond our control. For example, such a serious problem as global warming. I met with scientists, among whom there was one Nobel laureate in chemistry from Taiwan. He said that the question of whether our world will continue to exist or not will be decided in the next eighty years.
We must seriously attend to environmental issues. Today, more and more people are thinking about preserving the environment, and this is a good sign.
How many people die at the hands of other people! If from the very beginning people killed each other at today’s rate we would have nothing to worry about - humanity would have disappeared from the face of the earth.
World War I, World War II, did they bring anything good? No. They just engendered more hatred. Except for development of the military industry, if that could be considered a good result. But the only purpose of a weapon is to kill.
- President Putin jokes that there is nobody to talk to after the death of Mahatma Gandhi. What do you think about this? Are there politicians today that can change the world for the better, like Gandhi, or is the role of politicians not so important today?
- First of all, I want to say that the Russian Federation is a great country with great power. Recent events have shown that Putin, as the country's leader, pays great attention to what is happening in different parts of the world, and this is good.
- You said that Russia can make a great contribution to the development of the world. Do you still think so? And why?
- Yes. The Russian Federation has another advantage: from a geographical point of view, it serves as a bridge between the East and the West. We are connected with the people of Russia by a unique, rooted in history relationship.
I am sure that Russian Buddhists have a great future. It should be carefully considered. And then more people will become close friends of Russia. So from a political point of view, it will be useful (laughs).
- What message would you address today to a new generation?
- Prayers or faith as such will not help to achieve peace of mind. One must realize that anger is destructive, and compassion is constructive. The most important thing is to understand that the basis of anger is ignorance and narrow mindedness. While the basis of compassion is logical argument, the ability to look at things from a broad perspective.
Compassion can also be instilled by the education system and scientific discoveries. The greater compassion, the less anger. The cause of anger is ignorance; it does not have a solid foundation.
- Does happiness have this basis, and what is it all about? How to be happy?
- Happiness is a very serious topic. In the Western world, education in general is aimed at acquiring wealth. Material values ​​can give us only sensual pleasures.
We like exciting spectacles, such as sports. Some sports fans literally go crazy from joy when their team wins. Thinking is practically not involved then, everything happens at the level of sensory perception. People also enjoy beautiful music, it makes them cry. The same refers to delicious food, pleasant smells, touches. The feeling of happiness that they experience in this is entirely based on sensory perception.
Such happiness is not permanent. When you have any material reasons for happiness, you are happy. When they disappear, you have only memories. Real happiness is connected with the sixth consciousness.
So, genuine feelings are caused not by sensations received by the senses, but by experiences of a mental nature. Therefore, if you experience unpleasant sensations associated with the senses, then with some experience with the mental level, you can maintain peace of mind. Thus, the mental consciousness is above the types of consciousness associated with the senses. But due to the fact that we lead a materialistic way of life, we become slaves of sensual experiences.