Dalai Lama (2011), <Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World>, HarperOne 

Diversity is a word often associated with difference. It immediately conjures up an image of an amalgamation of variety. What do we really mean when we say we have a diverse community? Are we simply acknowledging the immediately apparent difference, or are we hinting at something more profound? Such concerns and others form the central issue of the book I would like to recommend today.

The book titled ‘Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World’ by His Holiness the Dalai Lama asks a crucially important question. Amidst the plethora of cultural and social diversity that exists in this world, can we find a common basis for a moral society? Implicitly I take this question to also ask, are we inevitably doomed to adhere to fragmented, isolated, and disjointed moral systems? In the latter case, the differences are apparent and inevitable, while in the former, the differences have at their core, a universal impetus.

To the first question he answers with a definitive yes. As is outlined in his book, he reasons that the foundation of a harmonious and diverse society must have at its core the acknowledgement of our basic equality. Equality in the face of our desire for happiness and success, however one might define them, and our aversion towards suffering. In this sense, for him, such an acknowledgement of, what he terms, our common human nature is pivotal to engineering a just, harmonious and a happy society. This is not to sweep the differences under the rug, but to realize that the diversity is an inevitable manifestation of our differences which are nonetheless based upon a common humanity. For him, genuine mutual respect and understanding, in the face of our apparent differences, can only come from the recognition of such a fundamental similarity.

The title of the book might seem provocative to some, but the core idea is to emphasize the need for a moral outlook, an ethical system, that transcends the confines of the various religious traditions – which have and continue to play a significant role in fostering a sense of common human fraternity. Nonetheless, for him, it is equally important to stress the basic human decency that we are all endowed with, in order to build a society that can imbibe such ideals and truly cherish our differences.

2022년 다양성 관련 도서 추천사 우수작, 강상관계 물질 연구단 연구원 Tenzin Rabga