September 28, 2004
His Holiness (Amanda)
Last Wednesday I attended a private speech by His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, exclusively for University of Miami faculty, staff and students. I was lucky enough to win a ticket in a lottery, but truly fortunate enough to witness this monumental event in the University's history, as well as an overwhelming and extraordinary event in my life.
Here are some of His Holiness's thoughts:
Anger and jealousy separate, but Love, compassion, responsibility and a sense of community bring us together.
The whole world is a part of your body. Therefore, destruction of your enemy is essentially the destruction of yourself.
War is an outdated concept. It leads to suffering of innocent people, and damage to the environment.
Using fear as a weapon is counterproductive.
Openness, love, and respect are the true way to change the enemy. There are no negative side effects.
Human affection and knowledge are the key to true happiness. Our mother teaches us the importance of love and compassion through human affection. Knowledge alone is not enough for a happy life.
His Holiness was asked that based on the use of religion as a cause for today's problems, especially terrorism, and the conflicts that arise from differences in religious beliefs, if it was best to do away with religion altogether. The following was his answer:
Religion is used as an excuse for some other factors (political agenda, personal gain, etc.)
The concept of one truth, one religion is beneficial to an individual, but more problematic as a group. The concept of several truths, several religions is more relevant and beneficial to the world community.
Physical pain can be subdued by mental facility, but the reverse is not possible.
His Holiness ended his speech by sharing a Tibetan saying:
"If the thread breaks nine times, you should connect it nine times: This is to say that we must persevere in our search for that which is good, no matter what may obstacles we may face.
I cannot do justice to the message that this wise man of the Buddhist tradition and of our time shared with the University community, but I hope that in some small way I was able to relay his message of peace, love and unity to my fellow bloggers.
Amanda
Posted by Amanda at September 28, 2004 10:54 PM
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Comments
You were ripped off. That was no llama. That was a little old guy in an orange sheet.
Posted by: Steve H. at September 29, 2004 01:38 PM
He's completely correct, but if your enemy doesn't share these views or live by them, you don't have much choice but to fight back.
Posted by: Mike at September 29, 2004 02:03 PM
Steve,
As usual, you have made me laugh hysterically, but that was just wrong on so many levels...
Mike,
You are absolutely right. The Dalai Lama did indicate that in some instances there is no other immediate answer but to engage in war. He said that war can sometimes lead to prosperity, as was the case with WWII and the Korean War, but you just never know what the result will be, and that our goal should be for good in the long run.
Posted by: Amanda at September 29, 2004 02:14 PM
Can't argue with that.
Posted by: Mike at September 29, 2004 02:30 PM
