May 21

Through My Eyes

Saturday May 21

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his experiences with the media!)

" Perhaps the most sceptical of all are the journalists and reporters with whom, because of my position as the Dalai Lama, I inevitably have a great deal of contact, especially when I travel. However, although it is often said that these men and women from the world's free press are very tough and aggressive, I have found that in general this is not so. The majority turn out to be friendly, even if the atmosphere is sometimes a little tense at first. Just occasionally, a question and answer session will turn into a serious argument. If this happens, I usually stop when it comes to politics, which I try to avoid. People have a right to their own opinions and I do not see it as my role to try to change their minds.

On a recent trip abroad, exactly this happened. After the press conference was over, some people felt that the Dalai Lama had not given good answers. However, I was not concerned. People must decide for themselves whether or not the Tibetan cause is a just one.

Much worse than the odd unsatisfactory encounter with the newspaper people have been a couple of incidents involving television appearances. On one occasion, when I was in France, I was invited to speak on a live news programme. It was explained that the presenter would speak to me directly in French. What he was saying would be simultaneously translated into English for me, via a small earphone. But in the event, I was unable to understand a word of what came out.

On another occasion, when I was in Washington, I was asked to do a similar thing, only this time I was alone in the studio. The interviewer spoke to me from New York. I was told to look directly at a screen showing not his face, but my own. This completely unsettled me. I found it so disconcerting to be talking to myself that I was lost for words!

Whenever I go abroad, I try to contact as many other religious practitioners as possible, with a view to fostering inter-faith dialogue. On one of my foreign visits, I met some Christians with a similar desire. This led to a monastic exchange whereby for a few weeks some Tibetan monks went to a Christian monastery, while a similar number of Christian monks came out to India. It proved to be an extremely useful exercise for both parties. In particular, it enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of other people's way of thinking.

Amongst the many religious personalities that I have met, I will single out a few. The present Pope is a man I hold in high regard. To begin with,our somewhat similar backgrounds give us an immediate common ground. The first time we met, he struck me as a very practical sort of person, very broad-minded and open. I have no doubt that he is a great spiritual leader. Any man who can call out 'Brother' to his would-be assassin, as Pope John Paul did, must be a highly evolved spiritual practitioner.

Mother Teresa, whom I met at Delhi airport on my way back from a conference at Oxford, England, during 1988 ( which she had also attended), is someone for whom I have the deepest respect. I was at once struck by her demeanor of absolute humility. From the Buddhist point of view she could be considered to be a Bodhisattva.

Another person whom I think of as a highly evolved spiritual master is a Catholic monk I met at his hermitage near Montserrat in Spain. He had spent a great many years there, just like an eastern sage, surviving off nothing more that bread and water and a little tea. He spoke very little English-even less than me-but from his eyes I could see that I was in the presence of an extraordinary person, a true practitioner of religion. When I asked him what his meditations were about, he answered simply, ' Love'. Since then, I have always thought of him as a modern Milarepa, after the Tibetan master of that name who spent much of his life hidden away in a cave, meditating and composing spiritual verses.

One religious leader with whom I have had several good conversations is the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie (whose courageous emissary, Terry Waite, I always remember in my prayers). We share the view that religion and politics do mix and both agree that it is the clear duty of religion to serve humanity, that it must not ignore reality. It is not sufficient for religious people to be involved with prayer. Rather , they are morally obliged to contribute all they can to solving the worlds problems.

I remember once an Indian politician taking me to task over this view. He said to me, quite humbly, ' Oh, but we are politicians, not religious people. Our first concern is with serving people through politics,' to which I replied, ' Politicians need religion more than a hermit on retreat. If a hermit acts out of bad motivation, he harms no one but himself. But if someone who can directly influence the whole of society acts with bad motivation, then a great number of people will be adversely affected.' I find no contradiction at all between politics and religion. "

( Terry Waite was negotiating for release of hostages from an extremist group in Lebanon and was kidnapped himself; he spent almost five years in solitary confinement before being released in 1991. 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 heading up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue spraying. Two as one pulling strongly and patiently together we've completed much of the spraying! We're spraying a lot more now, probably more than four hundred gallons today alone which is over three thousand pounds worth. Groundhog didn't come into the Grove today. Perhaps the electric fence is actually working! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual before returning to our studio to spin for you then to work on the printing block which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I took a long nap as I was quite tired! Then I worked on our a land of Tibet. I hope you liked the pages from our sacred place. You'll notice the clasps aren't visible; I have them connected in back of me because I was going to show me pulling Mom's wagon but then decided to show the sprayer so you can see what it looks like. It has all of the colors of the Tibetan flag if the battery case is included! I use the cover to keep the spray off of the connectors. Two as one we've fixed some more mistakes on the pages as usual. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up for now 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 May 21 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his experiences with the media!) " Perhaps the most sceptical of all are the journalists and reporters with whom, because of my position as the Dalai Lama, I inevitably have a great deal of contact, especially when I travel. However, although it is often said that these men and women from the world's free press are very tough and aggressive, I have found that in general this is not so. The majority turn out to be friendly, even if the atmosphere is sometimes a little tense at first. Just occasionally, a question and answer session will turn into a serious argument. If this happens, I usually stop when it comes to politics, which I try to avoid. People have a right to their own opinions and I do not see it as my role to try to change their minds. On a recent trip abroad, exactly this happened. After the press conference was over, some people felt that the Dalai Lama had not given good answers. However, I was not concerned. People must decide for themselves whether or not the Tibetan cause is a just one. Much worse than the odd unsatisfactory encounter with the newspaper people have been a couple of incidents involving television appearances. On one occasion, when I was in France, I was invited to speak on a live news programme. It was explained that the presenter would speak to me directly in French. What he was saying would be simultaneously translated into English for me, via a small earphone. But in the event, I was unable to understand a word of what came out. On another occasion, when I was in Washington, I was asked to do a similar thing, only this time I was alone in the studio. The interviewer spoke to me from New York. I was told to look directly at a screen showing not his face, but my own. This completely unsettled me. I found it so disconcerting to be talking to myself that I was lost for words! Whenever I go abroad, I try to contact as many other religious practitioners as possible, with a view to fostering inter-faith dialogue. On one of my foreign visits, I met some Christians with a similar desire. This led to a monastic exchange whereby for a few weeks some Tibetan monks went to a Christian monastery, while a similar number of Christian monks came out to India. It proved to be an extremely useful exercise for both parties. In particular, it enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of other people's way of thinking. Amongst the many religious personalities that I have met, I will single out a few. The present Pope is a man I hold in high regard. To begin with,our somewhat similar backgrounds give us an immediate common ground. The first time we met, he struck me as a very practical sort of person, very broad-minded and open. I have no doubt that he is a great spiritual leader. Any man who can call out 'Brother' to his would-be assassin, as Pope John Paul did, must be a highly evolved spiritual practitioner. Mother Teresa, whom I met at Delhi airport on my way back from a conference at Oxford, England, during 1988 ( which she had also attended), is someone for whom I have the deepest respect. I was at once struck by her demeanor of absolute humility. From the Buddhist point of view she could be considered to be a Bodhisattva. Another person whom I think of as a highly evolved spiritual master is a Catholic monk I met at his hermitage near Montserrat in Spain. He had spent a great many years there, just like an eastern sage, surviving off nothing more that bread and water and a little tea. He spoke very little English-even less than me-but from his eyes I could see that I was in the presence of an extraordinary person, a true practitioner of religion. When I asked him what his meditations were about, he answered simply, ' Love'. Since then, I have always thought of him as a modern Milarepa, after the Tibetan master of that name who spent much of his life hidden away in a cave, meditating and composing spiritual verses. One religious leader with whom I have had several good conversations is the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie (whose courageous emissary, Terry Waite, I always remember in my prayers). We share the view that religion and politics do mix and both agree that it is the clear duty of religion to serve humanity, that it must not ignore reality. It is not sufficient for religious people to be involved with prayer. Rather , they are morally obliged to contribute all they can to solving the worlds problems. I remember once an Indian politician taking me to task over this view. He said to me, quite humbly, ' Oh, but we are politicians, not religious people. Our first concern is with serving people through politics,' to which I replied, ' Politicians need religion more than a hermit on retreat. If a hermit acts out of bad motivation, he harms no one but himself. But if someone who can directly influence the whole of society acts with bad motivation, then a great number of people will be adversely affected.' I find no contradiction at all between politics and religion. " ( Terry Waite was negotiating for release of hostages from an extremist group in Lebanon and was kidnapped himself; he spent almost five years in solitary confinement before being released in 1991. 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 heading up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue spraying. Two as one pulling strongly and patiently together we've completed much of the spraying! We're spraying a lot more now, probably more than four hundred gallons today alone which is over three thousand pounds worth. Groundhog didn't come into the Grove today. Perhaps the electric fence is actually working! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual before returning to our studio to spin for you then to work on the printing block which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I took a long nap as I was quite tired! Then I worked on our a land of Tibet. I hope you liked the pages from our sacred place. You'll notice the clasps aren't visible; I have them connected in back of me because I was going to show me pulling Mom's wagon but then decided to show the sprayer so you can see what it looks like. It has all of the colors of the Tibetan flag if the battery case is included! I use the cover to keep the spray off of the connectors. Two as one we've fixed some more mistakes on the pages as usual. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up for now 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!)