NEW DELHI: Tibetan spiritual leader the

Dalai Lama

on Saturday called for the revival of the ancient Indian traditions and for integrating them with the modern education system, saying doing so would help fight issues such as war and global warming.

The monk, 82, was delivering a lecture on ‘Role of Ethics and Culture in Promoting Global Peace and Harmony’ in New Delhi. The programme was organised by

, which aims to preserve the history of the Indian independence movement, and

, a non-political society founded in 1978 with an aim to keep close interaction with people all over the world.

“Serious discussions on how to include the ancient Indian traditions in educational system should begin. India has the capability to combine modern education with its ancient traditions to help solve problems in the world,” the Dalai Lama said.

The greatness of the Indian civilisation is its spiritual brotherhood and harmony, he said, adding, it has produced the greatest philosophical thinkers and preachers who gave rise to the

tradition of Buddhism based on reason and logical conclusion.

Citing quantum physics, which describes nature at the smallest scales of energy levels of atoms and subatomic particles, the Dalai Lama said the concept was explained 2,000 years ago by the Indian philosopher

. “Buddha was an ancient Indian scientist. I consider myself as half monk and half scientist,” he said, referring to his deliberations with scientists.