Just one illustration of human connectedness is the inspiring friendship between The Dalai Lama and the late Desmond Tutu. Their kinship was a good example of how life experience is more fundamental than differences in religious doctrinal belief.

Such a response from the heart came over to me in an unexpected way. When our daughter Wendy was about seven years old, she joined my wife and myself at a reception for the Dalai Lama. Wendy and her friend were playing hide and seek, and their heads popped up from behind a sofa he was about to sit on. He loved that, welcomed them out from behind it, and gave them a big hug.

In that brief encounter, I sensed a deeply spiritual person. That is striking for one who has been forced to tread a very delicate tightrope since fleeing his beloved homeland of Tibet in 1959 because of the political aspirations of the Chinese government. The Dalai Lama has lived in exile since then and is well known as the dedicated leader of his Buddhist people. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

These two leaders, with very different backgrounds and religious beliefs, met together several times before Tutu’s death last year. They had very similar mischievous and joyful spirits. The last time they met was to write a book on the subject of JOY (The Book of Joy). This profound book became an international best seller. A film of their time together preparing for the book is currently available on BBC iPlayer.

Much could be written about the encounters between these men. One was grounded in his Christian faith, and the other emerges from the Gulag (or yellow Hat) non-theist Buddhist tradition. Their doctrinal beliefs differ radically but their spiritual experiences have so much in common. Just one of the things that particularly struck me is the unanimity of their observation that joy comes from within, when one is centred more on the wellbeing of others.

The Dalai Lama and Tutu are wonderful examples of how our life experience is more fundamental than the differences in our beliefs. In one passage of the book Tutu writes, ‘Do you really think that when the Dalai Lama arrives in heaven, that God will say, “Oh, Dalai Lama, you’ve been so wonderful. What a pity you are not a Christian. You’ll have to go to the warmer place.” Everybody sees just how entirely ridiculous this is.’

Exploring the relationship between these two is a worthwhile venture for any people aiming to foster our shared humanity.