Images of the Dalai Lama

We were not allowed to use flash in the IU Auditorium, so these are not as clear as I'd like. But these do give the general impression of what the stage looked like with His Holiness and the monks, abbots, nuns, and priests from a variety of traditions during the three days of teachings. It was really beautiful.

The final lecture he gave was in IU's Assembly Hall, where he spoke in front of 8,000 people. Thank goodness for the Jumbotron - we were in the nosebleed seats, so that's the only way we could really see him!


This last one is my favorite. His Holiness in his most impish, Yoda-like pose. :-)

My Path to Enlightenment, Day Four

The Dalai Lama's visit to Bloomington concluded today with a public talk on "Compassion: The Way to Peace" for 8,000 people at IU's Assembly Hall (the basketball stadium).

I have learned enough this week to be able to expect that His Holiness would advise all of us that the way to peace, both internally and on a global scale, is through compassion. He said that we all need to look for compassion within ourselves, and for affection to others, as a way to promote positivity and dispel the negative. He stated very clearly that he believes in promoting secular ethics - respective of but not dependent upon religious ethics - and that such lessons in morality need to be taught both in the home and through educational systems.

Much of today's talk clarified and contextualized many of the teachings he has shared all week... so in this post I think I'll share more of some of my observations of what the Dalai Lama is like himself.

I know I'm repeating myself here, but yet he is just such a positive, charismatic, and adorable figure, that just being in his presence brings about a little more lightness and happiness. Not only is he full of inspirational advice about ways to view the world and life, but he's also just so endearing. I can't resist those giggles!

There were two really little things, kinda silly when you think about it, that he kept doing all week. These little mannerisms made everyone laugh, and I see them as further signs of his own "real person-ness"... (1) after coming out on stage to sit in a regular-style chair, he would ask the audience to allow himself to get "more comfortable" and then would proceed to untie his shoes in a pretty undignified but real way and rearrange himself lotus style, then say "ah, much better!" and (2) once comfortable, he would say "one more thing!" and reach into his trusty Dalai Lama-man bag and pull out this ridiculous visor, matching his burgundy robes, and pull it tight over his eyes. He would say "What do you think? Look good?" and "Lights are too bright! Now I can see you!" It just made him look so cute, and after a day or so I was able to push aside the image of "His Holiness the Black Jack Dealer." (When I put up the pictures, you will see exactly what I mean!)

Oh, and he also tells a lot of stories about animals, both his personal experiences in giving and receiving affection from animals and his interest in scientific studies about what nurture versus nature means in the development of animal intelligence and communities. In two different sessions, he talked about how he really likes cats - "Clean, very clean! Dogs sometimes smell bad!" - and, I never thought I'd see it myself, but he does a pretty good impression of a cat purring. He said in Tibet, they like to say that a purring cat is actually reciting their Buddhist chants!

And I have to do some research into my movie history, cuz I *swear* His Holiness *has* to be the basis for Yoda. When he speaks in English, it is truly like watching Yoda come to life... in the very best way, of course! :-)

Alas, I am not going to see the Dalai Lama tomorrow. It actually makes me really sad to say that. This has been an amazing experience, both stimulating and inspirational, and it has motivated me to do a lot of thinking about the need for more method and wisdom in my own life. I really want to keep learning more, so this is just the very beginning of my own path to enlightenment.

(But I promise I will no longer subject you, my patient readers, to daily updates on my journey! :-)

My Path to Enlightenment, Day Three, Part 2

(This post was getting exceptionally long, so I thought I'd break it up for you....)

Today's afternoon session was very different, and it made for a nice change of pace. The 5 sessions so far had all been held in the IU Auditorium, with the Dalai Lama speaking to us in person and lecturing very specifically on Atisha's text. It was all very intellectual stuff, conveyed to the audience mostly through a very skilled translator. This afternoon, he went to Purdue University (a few hours away) for a talk on "Cultivating Happiness" that was simulcast at IU for all of us to see. This lecture was much lighter and more broad-ranging. This time, he gave the entire speech in what he calls his own "broken English," (which unlike the translation allows us to be in on the jokes he's making) and once again he proved just how endearing, inspiring, humble, and - let's face it - adorable he is as a human being. How can you not smile at a world leader who cracks himself up all the time? It's a pretty automatic reaction - whenever he smiles, I find myself smiling, genuinely, too. That's gotta be something.

In the intro to his talk, he shared more about his own mission and his role as a leader. He said he lives his life with 2 commitments - promoting compassion and promoting religious harmony. I love that he keeps coming back to the idea of interfaith cooperation and understanding, and that he's always sure to include non-believers as part of the greater community. It's very refreshing. He also gave a bit of a disclaimer, saying that many people come to see him speak looking for the wrong things -- looking for him to give them brilliant answers or expecting he has special powers, which he said is "absurd," and sometimes looking to him for healing, which he said is dangerous. He reminded us all that he's just a human being like all of us, just a teacher, and said that he's very skeptical of anyone of any faith who claim special powers like healing. A modest skeptic is the most prominent leader of this religious tradition? Wow. That's not something I'd expect!

So, back to the topic at hand... his answer to the question of how to cultivate happiness was simple: it all comes back to compassion. Compassion in thought and action is the key to creating inner peace, and a calm mind, which is the happiness that we all pursue. He reminded us that much of our unhappiness is our own creation, and that we should still seek to gain control over the mind in order to make ourselves happier.

Following his talk, he addressed a number of questions from the audience. We learned that of all of the "famous" people he's met in his lifetime, he's most enjoyed getting to know scientists from around the world. He also very diplomatically answered the question of "How would you end the war in Iraq" by saying "Ohhhh. Best answer for that? I don't know."

The most interesting discussion in the Q&A was his answer to the question of whether he is optimistic about the future of humanity, especially considering the difficult times we are in. He urged everyone to look at the larger picture of the world and where we've come, saying he thinks humanity has become "more mature." He shared a story of a conversation he had with England's Queen Mother before she died. He was very eager to ask her, someone who lived nearly a century, about whether she thought the world was better or worse than 100 years before. She told him, without hesitation, that the world was a better place, and she cited two main examples - the global concepts of human rights and the right of self-determination were both new ideas in her lifetime, and she believed they were indicative of progress.

He added his own examples, as well. In the last several decades, the world has begun awakening to a sense of responsibility toward the planet. He also sees the perspective on war as a sign of progress, because in the early 20th century citizens would join the war effort without question, but that now people question actions and show opposition to war. He also used the example of the creation of the European Union as progress, a demonstration that the nations that were formerly enemies have begun putting aside their differences and recognized their common interests ("competition with the US, ho, ho, ho!" His Holiness chuckled). The increase in humanitarianism and global philanthropy, particularly in health care, were also good examples.

He said he remains very positive about the future of humanity, based on these amazing gains in the 20th century that show how much experience and understanding we have gained as mankind. That was a pretty positive note on which to end the afternoon, and so that's where I will leave you now. Stay tuned for one more post about Saturday's afternoon talk!

My Path to Enlightenment, Day Three, Part 1

I enjoyed another two sessions of teachings from the Dalai Lama today, and the whole day was jam-packed with pretty interesting stuff.

In the extended morning session (from 8:30 - 12:30! that takes stamina!), His Holiness worked through the completion of Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. Much of today's discussion focused on the two-fold path to enlightenment, which requires both method and wisdom. Method includes the practice of accumulating merit, of living compassion and altruism, and wisdom includes learning the dharma and, essentially, realizing the inherent emptiness of existence.

I think I finally am starting to get the Buddhist concept of emptiness, which I've been struggling with. My notes from the moment when I finally had the "aha!" say "emptiness = the absence of inherent existence. Separating one's mind from greater manifestations." And... "Not negating the existence of phenomena, but the attributes that we overlay on phenomena are what don't exist."

Which still seems a little foggy, but the way I now understand it is that realizing emptiness means removing the overlays of perception that we put upon an object, or person, or concept. We assign attributes to things, which lead to either affection or aversion in our relations to those things, and we need to begin removing those attributes in order to reach a state of acceptance of the very nature of that thing. Such as... a flower is a flower. I may think that a flower is beautiful, and thus ascribe positive feelings toward that flower, thinking it's appealing. But my thinking that it's beautiful does not change the fact that it is simply a flower, with no other inherent attributes than just being a flower. To me, I'm beginning to see the concept of emptiness as the removal of labels or definitions, deconstructing the perceptions one may have about things in order to recognize their true forms. Starting to make sense, no? I was so happy to finally grasp onto this whole discussion - hooray!

His Holiness completed his lecture on the text about midway through the morning session, and then he offered us two ceremonies, which were both pretty amazing.

The first was a ceremony to awaken the mind, or for the "generation of Bodhicitta." (There's my new favorite word again!) His Holiness invited all of us interested to participate with a chant that formally marked the beginning of the journey towards enlightenment, solidifying the bond between us as teacher and students. I was thrilled to take part, actually, and thrilled to be able to officially call His Holiness my teacher. That's pretty darn amazing. The chant, repeated 3 times, is:

With a wish to free all beings

I shall always go for refuge

to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

until I reach full enlightenment.

Enthused by wisdom and compassion,

today in the Buddha's presence

I generate the Mind for Full Awakening

for the benefit of all sentient beings.

As long as space remains,

As long as sentient beings remain,

Until then, may I too remain

And dispel the miseries of the world.

(For those of you wondering, it was not required for anyone to participate, and he encouraged everyone who practices their own faith traditions - or non-believers - to substitute their own leaders or symbols into the chant and consider this a way to reaffirm their own practices in pursuing compassion and intellectual or spiritual fulfillment. No bait and switch tricky conversion tactics here....)

Following this Bodhicitta ceremony, His Holiness invited the audience to stay to observe a traditional Buddhist ceremony that he and the abbots, monks, and nuns on the stage performed. It was gorgeous. They performed traditional chants for about 45 minutes, making offerings to and receiving blessings from His Holiness. It was a pretty cool thing to watch and hear, and I'm glad we stayed for it.

The Paradox of Our Age

We have bigger houses but smaller families;

more conveniences, but less time;

We have more degrees, but less sense;

more knowledge, but less judgment;

more experts, but more problems;

more medicines, but less healthiness;

We've been all the way to the moon and back,

but have trouble crossing the street to meet

the new neighbour.

We built more computers to hold more

information to produce more copies than ever,

but have less communication;

We have become long on quantity,

but short on quality.

These are times of fast foods

but slow digestion;

Tall man but short character;

Steep profits but shallow relationships.

It's a time when there is much in the window,

but nothing in the room.

-- His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama

My Path to Enlightenment, Day Two

It was another enlightening (ha!) day here in Bloomington, as my parents and I enjoyed two more lectures from the Dalai Lama. Today's sessions were really stimulating, and the topics he covered were a lot more approachable than yesterday's more mind-bendy stuff.

The basis for these lectures is an 11th Century text, Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. His Holiness is lecturing about the text and relating it to Buddhist principles and practices, often going line-by-line to analyze what it says and provide context and more detail. Trust me, if you're ever going to tackle a thousand-year-old Tibetan text, you can't get a better teacher!

The morning session focused mostly on the "final destination" -- what is the goal for the mind/self? The goal is final nirvana, leaving behind all the residue of samsara, the cyclic existence. While His Holiness acknowledged that some Buddhist texts in the past said that the continuum of the conscious mind would end upon achieving nirvana, he said this doesn't make sense. Nothing in the universe can destroy the consciousness, it is endless. The self is endless. While "life" in the cyclic existence is primarily concerned with the balance between pain and suffering, the outcomes of the karmic equation of cause and effect, one can end the experience of suffering by achieving nirvana. And vice versa, really. Nirvana itself is achieved by ending the experience of suffering. It's a little mind-bendy, I know.

Thus, our interim goal is liberation from the cycle of ignorance, and the end of karmic ignorance is our final destination. How does this all happen? The self is on a journey... and the first destination is higher rebirth. The second is freedom from the cyclic existence, and the final is true enlightenment, or Buddhahood.

What is all this cyclic existence stuff? Well, most of us Western folks know it as reincarnation. I *love* this topic! From the Buddhist perspective, we are all trapped in cyclic existence...until we realize that we are, and then we can start the process of awakening, of seeking higher rebirth in our next lifetime on the path to enlightenment. This gets to all of the great Buddhist principles of loving all creatures, and "first, do no harm," as all creatures - or, as His Holiness calls them, all "sentient beings" - are equal, each cycling on the continuum of birth and rebirth and with the potential to become enlightened. (Yes, he said, this may take a self years, or centuries, or eons! :-)

I have always found the concept of reincarnation to be really appealing. It seems incomprehensible to me that all of the experiences, lessons, emotions, the "selfness" of all of us just cease to exist upon death. I am very open to believing in the possibility that we have all lived past lives, whether as the King of England or a wombat, and the idea of being on a journey of self-improvement over lifetimes really resonates. I like the idea of having many chances to get "it" right, and the cause-and-effect rewards and consequences of karma make a lot of sense to me. The universe seeks balance, I believe, and the idea of all of the "souls" of creatures great and small building upon their experiences to achieve a higher plane sounds pretty motivating to me. It's got a nice "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" feel to it. In keeping with the Buddhist perspective on science that one can believe a theory until it is disproven, I'm cool with reincarnation. (Plus, I have a sneaking suspicion that trusty cat Cleo was a little old Italian woman in a past life!)

By the way, my new favorite word is Bodhicitta - "the awakening mind." The root of the Bodhicitta is compassion, which one can cultivate in 2 ways: 1. Realizing a sense of empathetic connectedness to all sentient beings (aka endearment), and 2. Realizing a desire to see all of those sentient beings freed from suffering. See, doesn't that sound nice?

The afternoon session was more practical, focusing on how one can seek enlightenment in practice. His Holiness provided a lot of instruction on achieving "calm abiding" - a necessary state to attain higher perception - through meditation, offering advice on how people can begin to incorporate Buddhist teachings into daily life through this method of trying to cleanse the mind. Now, I have never been good at quieting my mind...which has its negative affects on my sleep, my anxiety levels, my yes-I'll-acknowledge-it paranoia, my mood in general. I would really love to find ways to reduce my own selfish (in the Buddhist sense of the word!) suffering by quieting my darn mind. The Dalai Lama did point out that a goal on this path is learning how to take control of the mind, since usually it is the mind that controls us! Amen, Your Holiness! So, learning more on this topic could have a real benefit....

I'm still really enjoying this journey, both literally and philosophically! And I'm learning enough to make me really want to explore more, so I'm thinking about finding out what sort of Buddhist resources there are in DC. (I assume we've got a pretty decent community.) Give a shout out if you have any advice, por favor.

Side note - As I am sitting in these lectures, I keep being struck by how many themes keep coming up that unexpectedly echo that book I read last month, Spook. I never would have expected the Dalai Lama's teachings to have anything in common with a casual survey of pseudoscience, but... both are very focused on determining the existence of the self or soul, and considering reincarnation, and pursuing the idea of consciousness after death. It's a very strange theme to have in my intellectual pursuits for this fall, but I'm really diggin' it!

PS - If I were going through these lectures 5 years ago, they would all be further validation for my commitment to vegetarianism. The empathetic connectedness to all creatures, the belief that we are all cycling through time as different lifeforms, all of it would make me really glad I was no longer eating animals. But, alas, it's not 5 years ago. I still greatly admire all you successful vegetarians out there, but I just can't do it myself. At least not this lifetime!

My Path to Enlightenment, Day One

I just spent the day with the Dalai Lama. (Chalk that up to "things I never thought I'd be able to say" but will actually be able to say for the next 3 days, as well.) He's in Bloomington giving 3 days of lectures followed by a public talk on compassion as the way to world peace, and Mom, Dad and I are taking it all in.

I walked into today's lectures not really knowing much about Buddhism. Sure, I was a religion major, but I focused more on the ancient Mediterranean religions and cultures. Sadly, I'm really deficient when it comes to knowing modern world religions. And, well, life has just been busy lately and I never fulfilled my intentions to do any reading up before this trip. So, this is really a crash course for me.

His Holiness started this morning's lecture with a long, inspiring, and entertaining welcome. He greeted people of all faiths and backgrounds and told wonderful stories that made his point about the importance for tolerance and acceptance of religious differences and commonalities. He's a wonderful storyteller, and he really does giggle just as much as it seems when you see him on tv.

My favorite part of this introduction was that he gave a very clear and impassioned explanation of why he does not allow his Buddhist centers to pursue active conversion or missionary work, which I really appreciated. He believes that the role of Tibetan centers, or of monks, or even himself, is to be there when people come seeking answers, and to be ready to help those who come looking to learn more - but not to go out and seek to change other people's beliefs. This view seems very closely tied to his overall promotion of tolerance and togetherness, and of the concept of enabling people to pick and choose from different faiths or philosophies what works for them. I was thrilled to hear someone so esteemed speak so succinctly, echoing my own views on the role religion should play.

At another point in the morning session, he also discussed the differences between what he calls sensorial needs and mental needs (sorta close to Maslow's hierarchy of needs for those of you who also had to sit through Sociology 101) and the interplay between them. Sensorial needs are the basics that we all require for living - health, a home, the ability to provide for ourselves. Mental needs equate more to how we really feel inside, whether we're stressed or unhappy or anxious or depressed or if we've found ways to create joy and happiness in our lives. He made the point that at first seems pretty obvious, but at this stage in my life really struck me as profound.

Someone who is fulfilling their mental needs, who has found contentment and peace in their lives, can overcome challenges at the sensory level. (As in, if you've found inner peace, it doesn't matter how nice your house is, you can work through problems, etc.) BUT, on the flip side, having all of your sensory needs met can not help you address your mental needs -- money and status can't buy you happiness. He used a great story as an example, of people he met who lived in a gorgeous mansion but were numbing themselves with antidepressants because they just couldn't find satisfaction in their lives. Man, it felt like he was speaking right to me....

After 2 hours of pretty heady stuff like this, he turned to the audience of thousands, clasped his hands together, and said "Now it's time for lunch!" with a big giggle. :-)

The afternoon session was more challenging intellectually -- not just because everyone was hitting that afternoon low where I and many others around me were fighting to keep eyes open -- and it focused a lot more on the Buddhist view of the self, and the origin of the mind, and the goals of selflessness and emptiness. It was harder to follow, cuz my brain hasn't had to do those kinds of backflips in a while, but I am glad I bought an introductory book at lunchtime and was able to skim over some of that harder stuff to try and follow along. I need to speed-read a bit tonight and hope I'll know enough tomorrow to be able to take more of it in.

Side note - When I get home, I promise to upload photos of the way the stage is set up during these lectures. It is truly a gorgeous sight to behold, with roughly 30 monks and nuns in their robes kneeling on the stage, surrounded by about 2 dozen visiting clerics of different religions in their own traditional dress, a tremendous golden tapestry of the Buddha, and His Holiness himself at the middle of it all sitting lotus-style on what can only be described as a brightly-colored throne. I spent a long time staring at all of the details, just drinking it all in.

So....while I'm not quite ready to don the saffron robes just yet, I am very intrigued and looking forward to learning a lot more about Buddhist philosophy. I think I have to go add some more books to my Amazon cart!

PS - With all of the above being said about proselytizing, I do have to do some after all.... If you are ever in the vicinity of Bloomington, Indiana, you MUST eat at Samira, the Afghan restaurant on the main square. Tonight was the third time I've eaten there in the last 5 years, and it's every bit as delicious as I remember. I don't know if it's possible that a meal can help you attain enlightenment, but their lamb with basmati rice comes darn close!

My Path to Enlightenment

Every year, my mom and I take some trip together to somewhere new in the US, where we do all the typical cultural tourist stuff - seeing museums, taking walking or boat tours, trying restaurants, etc. This year, our trip (hiking in Maine) had to be cancelled due to family medical stuff, which has had me pretty bummed out.

But, earlier this week Mom called me with an offer I couldn't refuse... she asked if I wanted to come visit them in Bloomington for an extra week this fall and join her in taking classes.

What are the classes? Three days of spiritual teaching from the Dalai Lama!

His Holiness visits Bloomington each year, as he has family living in the area and there is actually a pretty large Tibetan community.

I'm really looking forward to this. I don't know a lot about Buddhism, but I've always wanted to learn more so this will be a great opportunity. It has been a long time since I've explored the more philosophical side of life - I was a religion major, once upon a time - and it feels like this is a pretty good time to do it. Plus, I'll get an extra added visit in with my parents, which as I'm learning becomes more and more valuable as we all get older.

So now I'm counting down the days to this fall!