RE: Hitchhiking adventures in Italy - Livorno featuring the Dalai Lama #12
Great article, you've inspired me to write about my own experience with the Dalia Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. Those shungden you met are indeed Chinese paid acting on behalf of the state to undermine the Dalia Lamas message. One thing to realize is that Tenzin 'Dalia Lama' Gyatso is at his heart just a man who had handed down to him the incredible weight of leading Tibet at a very tumultuous time in history. Tibet, the displaced country, is now democratic. He is a spiritual leader, not a god, or president. His message has always been one of peaceful resolution to the situation in Tibet. He is compassionate to the fact that many Chinese have never been given a clear history of there country, and this is not there fault. Mao, after a lovely meal with Tenzin turned to him and proclaimed religion a poison. He fled Tibet in '59 to protect himself, but also the tradition he represents for Tibetan Buddhism. It will be a very sad day when that man no longer walks the earth.
Thank you very much for this answer. I follow you and I am curious to read more about your experiences. From my impression the Dalai Lama was in deed a very nice man trying to help people understand the benefits of compassion and multual aid. But he also said that he prohibited a Shugden practice in the temple which he used to do himself until he was convinced it was evil. Do you know what that was? I guessed it has something today with psychoactives for a bad trip might have frightened him but I don't know...
Basically shungden was a monk who became angry at a ceremony long ago, and acquired special strength. As far as I understand it, it's basically the equivalence of the devil in western religion. The teachings the Dalia Lama received as a child were that both good and evil were praised, in a sort of hedging your bets deal for balance. The Dalia lama put an end to this practice, realizing you needn't balance the two, that you could live peacefully without war, could love some without hating others. The Chinese have used the rift between those who believe the old way and those the new. Drugs aren't in any part of their religion. A lot of 'injie'(white people) don't realize this and are generally frowned upon for their disrespect. You have no idea how hard it was for me to convince my wife's parents that I wasn't just another no good 'injie' slouch.
Thanks a lot for sharing your knoledge with me. I found it very difficult to understand the conflict. So the Dalai Lama prohibited warshipping the "evil" aspects of god? For me I like to go the peaceful way (eventhough I am not perrfect and sometimes I can have negative emotions) but I tollerate the "evil" way for I do not know who or how god is so I am not the one to judge how others should practice their religious beliefes. I thought that the use of herbs was also part of the religious way because i heard in India about the use of pschoactives in Hinduism and since the religions are related I thought this is also happening in Buddhism. Also the art and the teachings remind me of this. Thank you for teaching an injie. I had to think of a very great song when I read this word:
Buddhism is a fascinating study in religion, it's precepts are based in traditions on stories of gods and kings, but it's leader is the 14th reincarnation of a boy who left home to think, starved himself, was eventually nursed back to health, and realized that medatation and quiet reflective thought is the path to enlightenment. My favorite incarnation is the 6th Dalia Lama. He refused to take the vows of a monk, drank, womanized and wrote poetry.
In love with the lake
The swan longs to stay longer,
But the ice covers the lake
And the swan flies
With no regrets.
Is an example of his work, loosely translated from the early 1700's Tibetan scripts. The Tibetan people's main goal is to not lose their history, They have their own flag, had their own currency, language and culture before China invaded in the 1950's. As a white guy in Canada, I'd compare it to what the Europeans did to the natives 300 years ago. As such many Chinese people are taught they brought culture to savages, not that they are continuing a cultural genocide.
Nice song btw, I'll have to look up more of his tunes. Safe journeys
Wow that poem is truely awesome. I wonder what the swan will see next on his journey :) I will check out more of his poetry. Thank you for this recommendation :)
Quick note about the money for blessings, it's a way for the orginizers to recoup costs, traveling, security, venue are not covered by the door, and none of that money goes to the Dalai Lama, any access may go towards initiative like TCV (Tibetan Children's Village)