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Robert Coles
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Forgiveness and Compassion
Religion and Moral Truth
Remembrance
Anti-Semitism and Dehumanization
Silence, Guilt, and Resistance
Summary
Analysis
The Dalai Lama makes a succinct opening point: that one should forgive those who have committed atrocities, though that does not necessarily mean one should forget them.
The Dalai Lama, like others, makes a distinction between forgiveness and forgetting, arguing that these crimes should not be forgotten.
Themes
The Dalai Lama points to the people of Tibet as an example, one fifth of whom have lost their lives following China’s invasion of Tibet in 1949-50. He argues that to be angry and to condemn people for brutality is “not the Buddhist way.” He cites another Tibetan monk who stated that while he was imprisoned his biggest fear was to lose compassion for the Chinese.
The Dalai Lama’s perspective is unique as one of the few Buddhist respondents to Simon’s question. He states that his religion is primarily about compassion (which he conveys by citing the monk’s story), and for him compassion equates with forgiveness in this situation.
Themes
