Geshe Lhakdor, a former translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and current Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, was invited by Lha Charitable Trust to give a public talk on September 19 at Lha’s Ahimsa Hall. Geshe la’s talk, Secular Ethics and the Responsibility of Tibetan Youth, was attended by around 20 Tibetan youngsters and followed by a question and answer session with the speaker. Secular ethics are moral standards derived from our need to get along together as a society,  unlike religious ethics which are derived from the teachings of a religion (although the two approaches often overlap).

Geshe la outlined the main principals of Secular Ethics – truth, compassion, equality, freedom, courage and universal responsibility – and how to incorporate them into our daily life.
This talk was part of Lha’s new Secular Ethics project funded by the Tibet Fund. This one-year research fellowship programme will develop a vision of secular ethics for Tibetan schools and society. The aim of the programme is to measure the practical application of secular ethics in Tibetan society today.The inspiration for it is His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose thoughts on secular ethics and universal responsibility are widely recognised and revered. People in western countries show significant interest in secular ethics, but few Tibetans have attempted to study them and the programme aims to redress that balance.