April 9

Through My Eyes

Saturday April 9

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his tulku cat!)

" When she in her turn died, after both dogs, I decided against having any more pets. As my Senior Tutor, Ling Rinpoche, himself a great animal lover, had once said, 'Pets are in the end only an extra source of anxiety to their owners.' Besides, from the Buddhist point of view, it is not enough to be thinking and caring about only one or two animals when all sentient beings are in need of your thoughts and prayers.

However, during the winter of 1988, I happened to notice a sick kitten with its mother in the kitchens opposite the front entrance to my house. I took her into my care. To my surprise, I found that she two was crippled, just as her two predecessors had been. So I fed her with Tibetan medicine and milk from a pipette until she was strong enough to be able to look after herself, and she has now joined my household. At the time of writing, she does not yet have a name: that will come in due course. In the meantime, she has proved herself to be a very lively individual and very curious. Whenever I have a visitor to the house, she invariably comes to inspect them. So far she is quite well behaved as regards chasing other creatures, though she is not above helping herself to food from my table if the opportunity arises.

One observation about animals I have is that, even as pets and despite having all facilities, they tend to run away, given the chance. This reinforces my belief that the desire for freedom is fundamental to all living beings.

To me, one of the most important aspects of my thirty-one years in exile has been my meetings with people from all walks of life. Thanks to India being a free country, there has been no restriction on who I am permitted to see. On occasion, I have had the good fortune to welcome some truly remarkable people. Sometimes, though, I also receive people who are quite sick, even mentally disturbed. But mostly, those that I see are ordinary men and women. Whenever I do meet people, my aim is to help in any way that I can, and also to learn what I can.

Infrequently, these audiences are awkward in some way, but in every case that I can recall, I have parted on friendly terms with all who have come to visit. I believe that this has been possible by always having the same motivation of sincerity.

Especially, I enjoy meeting men and women from varied backgrounds, including some form different religious traditions. One famous example was J. Krishnamurti. I found him to be an impressive person, with a sharp mind and considerable learning. Although he had a gentle appearance, he had very clear-cut views about life and its meaning. Subsequently, I have also met many followers of his who have derived much benefit from his teachings.

One of my happiest memories of this time is the occasion when I was fortunate enough to receive a visit from Father Thomas Merton, the American Benedictine monk. He came to Dharamsala in November 1968, just a few weeks before his tragic death in Thailand. We met on three consecutive days, for two hours at a time. Merton was a well-built man of medium height, with even less hair than me, though that was not because his head was shaved as mine is. He had big boots and wore a thick leather belt round the middle of his heavy, white cassock. But more striking than his outward appearance , which was memorable in itself, was the inner life that he manifested. I could see he was a truly humble and deeply spiritual man. this was the first time that I had been struck by such a feeling of spirituality in anyone who professed Christianity. Since then, I have come across others with similar qualities, but it was Merton who introduced me to the real meaning of the word 'Christian'.

Our meetings were conducted in a very pleasant atmosphere. Merton was both humorous and well informed. I called him a Catholic geshe. We talked about intellectual and spiritual matters that were of mutual interest and exchanged information about monasticism. I was keen to learn all that I could about the monastic tradition in the West. He told me a number of things that surprised me, notably that Christian practitioners of meditation do not adopt any particular physical position when they meditate. According to my understanding, position and even breathing are vital components to its practice.

For his part, Merton wanted to know all he could about the Bodhisattva ideal. He also hoped to meet a teacher who could introduce him to Tantrism. Altogether, it was a most useful exchange- not the least because I discovered from it that there are many similarities between Buddhism and Catholicism. So I was extremely sad to hear of his sudden death. Merton acted as a strong bridge between our two very different traditions. Above all, he helped me to realise that every major religion, with its teaching of love and compassion, can produce good human beings. "

( Father Thomas Merton was one of the first Catholic spiritual leaders in modern times to introduce Eastern faiths to the West. I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Through my eyes

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio spinning for you then worked on the printing block which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi with shing rta khor lo ama la gi hauling up the mower and other items we needed. Two as one pulling strongly and patiently together we've just about completed trimming around the trees and native plants and have made considerable progress with the feeding! I admit I'm a bit tired as I'm still becoming used to the weather and activity level! After that I rested by your Medlar tree listening to the night sounds as usual before heading to our studio to continue work on our a land of Tibet. Your Medlar tree is beginning to show signs of waking to spring! It wasn't our warm and bright future day of course, but it was wondrous up there with the grass turning green and the intense blue sky! I hope you liked the picture of me from our sacred place. Sometimes it's hard to set up as you know well. It's time to work on the monthly pages again! Two as one we've noticed a few mistakes on the monthly pages that we'll fix soon. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up a bit early so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday April 9 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his tulku cat!) " When she in her turn died, after both dogs, I decided against having any more pets. As my Senior Tutor, Ling Rinpoche, himself a great animal lover, had once said, 'Pets are in the end only an extra source of anxiety to their owners.' Besides, from the Buddhist point of view, it is not enough to be thinking and caring about only one or two animals when all sentient beings are in need of your thoughts and prayers. However, during the winter of 1988, I happened to notice a sick kitten with its mother in the kitchens opposite the front entrance to my house. I took her into my care. To my surprise, I found that she two was crippled, just as her two predecessors had been. So I fed her with Tibetan medicine and milk from a pipette until she was strong enough to be able to look after herself, and she has now joined my household. At the time of writing, she does not yet have a name: that will come in due course. In the meantime, she has proved herself to be a very lively individual and very curious. Whenever I have a visitor to the house, she invariably comes to inspect them. So far she is quite well behaved as regards chasing other creatures, though she is not above helping herself to food from my table if the opportunity arises. One observation about animals I have is that, even as pets and despite having all facilities, they tend to run away, given the chance. This reinforces my belief that the desire for freedom is fundamental to all living beings. To me, one of the most important aspects of my thirty-one years in exile has been my meetings with people from all walks of life. Thanks to India being a free country, there has been no restriction on who I am permitted to see. On occasion, I have had the good fortune to welcome some truly remarkable people. Sometimes, though, I also receive people who are quite sick, even mentally disturbed. But mostly, those that I see are ordinary men and women. Whenever I do meet people, my aim is to help in any way that I can, and also to learn what I can. Infrequently, these audiences are awkward in some way, but in every case that I can recall, I have parted on friendly terms with all who have come to visit. I believe that this has been possible by always having the same motivation of sincerity. Especially, I enjoy meeting men and women from varied backgrounds, including some form different religious traditions. One famous example was J. Krishnamurti. I found him to be an impressive person, with a sharp mind and considerable learning. Although he had a gentle appearance, he had very clear-cut views about life and its meaning. Subsequently, I have also met many followers of his who have derived much benefit from his teachings. One of my happiest memories of this time is the occasion when I was fortunate enough to receive a visit from Father Thomas Merton, the American Benedictine monk. He came to Dharamsala in November 1968, just a few weeks before his tragic death in Thailand. We met on three consecutive days, for two hours at a time. Merton was a well-built man of medium height, with even less hair than me, though that was not because his head was shaved as mine is. He had big boots and wore a thick leather belt round the middle of his heavy, white cassock. But more striking than his outward appearance , which was memorable in itself, was the inner life that he manifested. I could see he was a truly humble and deeply spiritual man. this was the first time that I had been struck by such a feeling of spirituality in anyone who professed Christianity. Since then, I have come across others with similar qualities, but it was Merton who introduced me to the real meaning of the word 'Christian'. Our meetings were conducted in a very pleasant atmosphere. Merton was both humorous and well informed. I called him a Catholic geshe. We talked about intellectual and spiritual matters that were of mutual interest and exchanged information about monasticism. I was keen to learn all that I could about the monastic tradition in the West. He told me a number of things that surprised me, notably that Christian practitioners of meditation do not adopt any particular physical position when they meditate. According to my understanding, position and even breathing are vital components to its practice. For his part, Merton wanted to know all he could about the Bodhisattva ideal. He also hoped to meet a teacher who could introduce him to Tantrism. Altogether, it was a most useful exchange- not the least because I discovered from it that there are many similarities between Buddhism and Catholicism. So I was extremely sad to hear of his sudden death. Merton acted as a strong bridge between our two very different traditions. Above all, he helped me to realise that every major religion, with its teaching of love and compassion, can produce good human beings. " ( Father Thomas Merton was one of the first Catholic spiritual leaders in modern times to introduce Eastern faiths to the West. I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. Through my eyes ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio spinning for you then worked on the printing block which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi with shing rta khor lo ama la gi hauling up the mower and other items we needed. Two as one pulling strongly and patiently together we've just about completed trimming around the trees and native plants and have made considerable progress with the feeding! I admit I'm a bit tired as I'm still becoming used to the weather and activity level! After that I rested by your Medlar tree listening to the night sounds as usual before heading to our studio to continue work on our a land of Tibet. Your Medlar tree is beginning to show signs of waking to spring! It wasn't our warm and bright future day of course, but it was wondrous up there with the grass turning green and the intense blue sky! I hope you liked the picture of me from our sacred place. Sometimes it's hard to set up as you know well. It's time to work on the monthly pages again! Two as one we've noticed a few mistakes on the monthly pages that we'll fix soon. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up a bit early so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)