Pre and Post seeing the Dalai Lama
PRE:
Going to see the Dalai Lama in like 40 mins - only like 5 blocks from my house!!!!!
I looked up some info on him for you to read up on. Just factoids to get an idea of who he is and how he came to be the Dalai Lama.....
His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.
The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Lhamo Dhondrub was, as Dalai Lama, renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling Gem or simply Kundun - The Presence.
The enthronement ceremony took place on February 22, 1940 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
"I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."
His Holiness follows the life of Buddhist monk. Living in a small cottage in Dharamsala, he rises at 4 A.M. to meditate, pursues an ongoing schedule of administrative meetings, private audiences and religious teachings and ceremonies. He concludes each day with further prayer before retiring. In explaining his greatest sources of inspiration, he often cites a favorite verse, found in the writings of the renowned eighth century Buddhist saint Shantideva:
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
Discovery of His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama
His Holiness the Dalai Lama was born in a peasant family on July 6th, 1935, in a small village called Taktser in north eastern Tibet. His Holiness was recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama.
When the 13th Dalai Lama passed away in 1935, the task that confronted the Tibetan Government was not simply to appoint a successor but to search for and discover a child in whom the Buddha of Compassion would incarnate.
In 1935 the Regent of Tibet went to the sacred lake of Lhamo Lhatso at Chokhorgyal, about 90 miles south east of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. For centuries the Tibetans had observed that visions of the future could be seen in this lake. The Regent had a vision of three Tibetan letters, Ah, Ka, and Ma, followed by a picture of a monastery with roofs of jade green and gold, and a house with turquoise tiles. In 1937 high lamas and dignitaries carrying the secrets of the vision were sent to all parts of Tibet in search of the place that the Regent had seen in the waters. The search party that headed east was under the leadership of Lama Kewtsang Rinpoche of Sera Monastery. When they arrived in Amdo, they found a place matching the description of the secret vision. The party went to the house with Kewtsang Rinpoche disguised as the servant, and junior official Lobsang Tsewang disguised as the leader. The Rinpoche was wearing a rosary that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama, and the little boy of the house recognised it and demanded that it be given to him. Kewtsang Rinpoche promised to give it to him if he could guess who he was, and the boy replied that he was "Sera aga", which means in the local dialect "a lama of Sera". Then the Rinpoche asked who the leader was and the boy gave his name correctly; he also knew the name of the real servant. This was followed by a series of tests that included the choosing of correct articles that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama
POST:
Alright, so after about 30 minutes of waiting in this giant auditorium listening to chanting type music, with zero fanfare, out came the DL. Everyone stood and clapped though with some restraint, no screams or whistles. He spoke mostly in English with a translator...occassionally he would switch into what I assume was Tibetan. The start was sllllloooowwwww, but then he got on a roll. While he waited for the translator to coplete the translation he would sit there quite calm, scratched his face, yawned, scratched his arm. He has a very down to earth way about him - he doesn't seem overly impressed with himself and doesn't make grand entrances or exits. He seemed to speak mostly about how each of the large religions is valid for the people that it serves. He doesn't believe that everyone should become buddhist. He made an extended analogy - how religions is like medicine: there is no one medicine that cures everything, and not all people responded to medicine in the same way etc. Then he really got into perception and so on....Anyhow, as suddenly as he appeared, he declared it was time for lunch - and that was that!!!!
Going to see the Dalai Lama in like 40 mins - only like 5 blocks from my house!!!!!
I looked up some info on him for you to read up on. Just factoids to get an idea of who he is and how he came to be the Dalai Lama.....
His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.
The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Lhamo Dhondrub was, as Dalai Lama, renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling Gem or simply Kundun - The Presence.
The enthronement ceremony took place on February 22, 1940 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
"I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."
His Holiness follows the life of Buddhist monk. Living in a small cottage in Dharamsala, he rises at 4 A.M. to meditate, pursues an ongoing schedule of administrative meetings, private audiences and religious teachings and ceremonies. He concludes each day with further prayer before retiring. In explaining his greatest sources of inspiration, he often cites a favorite verse, found in the writings of the renowned eighth century Buddhist saint Shantideva:
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
Discovery of His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama
His Holiness the Dalai Lama was born in a peasant family on July 6th, 1935, in a small village called Taktser in north eastern Tibet. His Holiness was recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama.
When the 13th Dalai Lama passed away in 1935, the task that confronted the Tibetan Government was not simply to appoint a successor but to search for and discover a child in whom the Buddha of Compassion would incarnate.
In 1935 the Regent of Tibet went to the sacred lake of Lhamo Lhatso at Chokhorgyal, about 90 miles south east of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. For centuries the Tibetans had observed that visions of the future could be seen in this lake. The Regent had a vision of three Tibetan letters, Ah, Ka, and Ma, followed by a picture of a monastery with roofs of jade green and gold, and a house with turquoise tiles. In 1937 high lamas and dignitaries carrying the secrets of the vision were sent to all parts of Tibet in search of the place that the Regent had seen in the waters. The search party that headed east was under the leadership of Lama Kewtsang Rinpoche of Sera Monastery. When they arrived in Amdo, they found a place matching the description of the secret vision. The party went to the house with Kewtsang Rinpoche disguised as the servant, and junior official Lobsang Tsewang disguised as the leader. The Rinpoche was wearing a rosary that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama, and the little boy of the house recognised it and demanded that it be given to him. Kewtsang Rinpoche promised to give it to him if he could guess who he was, and the boy replied that he was "Sera aga", which means in the local dialect "a lama of Sera". Then the Rinpoche asked who the leader was and the boy gave his name correctly; he also knew the name of the real servant. This was followed by a series of tests that included the choosing of correct articles that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama
POST:
Alright, so after about 30 minutes of waiting in this giant auditorium listening to chanting type music, with zero fanfare, out came the DL. Everyone stood and clapped though with some restraint, no screams or whistles. He spoke mostly in English with a translator...occassionally he would switch into what I assume was Tibetan. The start was sllllloooowwwww, but then he got on a roll. While he waited for the translator to coplete the translation he would sit there quite calm, scratched his face, yawned, scratched his arm. He has a very down to earth way about him - he doesn't seem overly impressed with himself and doesn't make grand entrances or exits. He seemed to speak mostly about how each of the large religions is valid for the people that it serves. He doesn't believe that everyone should become buddhist. He made an extended analogy - how religions is like medicine: there is no one medicine that cures everything, and not all people responded to medicine in the same way etc. Then he really got into perception and so on....Anyhow, as suddenly as he appeared, he declared it was time for lunch - and that was that!!!!
2 Comments:
Isn't his voice amazingly deep? I saw him two years ago here in Vancouver. The DL also seems to have a sense of mischief as well.
agreed - it felt like despite his obvious serious committment to Buddhism, he is capable of not taking everything seriously. I like that, it makes religious leaders seem less removed from the rest of humanity, more identifiable.
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