![]() |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Book Contents Foreword by Tashi Wangdi His Holiness the Dalai Lama: A Short Biography by Michele Martin The United Nations International Day of Peace Tashi Delek by Jeremy Wilber Genuine Compassion by Andrea Barrist Stern Bodyguard Embodies Courage and Compassion by lama Kathy Wesley The Dalai Lama Speaks to the People of Woodstock Long Life Prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama Acknowledgments Resources
Genuine Affection Whenever we meet people who smile at us with genuine feeling, and without suspicion, we feel very happy. But we don’t like to see someone who always looks a little stern, or whose smile seems artificial. I think that not only humans, but also animals—dogs, cats, birds—respond very nicely if we feed them with sincere feeling. In 1959 when I left Tibet, I had a dog that I had to leave behind. I did not feel bad about that, because my relationship with the dog was not very good. You see, although I wanted a friendly attitude from the dog, my own attitude was sometimes kind and sometimes a little prone to disciplinary actions. As a result that dog, who was quite smart, was sometimes nice to me and sometimes not nice, and I did not think he had a very friendly attitude. At another time when I was young, I had a small parrot. One of my attendants, an old monk, whenever he was passing through, fed nuts to that bird. The parrot got excited whenever he heard the old man’s footsteps, even from a distance, and when the monk fed him he was delighted and affectionate. Then I got to thinking, “The real owner of that parrot is me, not that monk.” I wanted my parrot to have a good attitude toward me, too, so I fed him nuts a few times. He had been so nice to the monk, but when I gave him a nut, he would take it and eat it, and then peck at me aggressively. Eventually I lost my temper and I used a little stick to punish him. In the end my relation with that small parrot worsened; it got much worse, with no hope of reconciliation. So that’s the story. The point is that those animals, poor animals, appreciate genuine affection, and they also know if a person is cheating or tricking them. They know. They have no religion, no constitution—nothing, no police—but they do appreciate genuine affection. That’s really the wonderful quality of human beings, that from birth we have this kind of warmheartedness, this love and affection. Mary Smiled at Me I visited Lourdes in southern France, and there I stood in front of the statue of Mary, and some water pipes. As I stood there, I had a kind of strange, very very deep experience. At that place, millions of people throughout the centuries have received deep inspiration and satisfaction in the name of Jesus Christ, or in the name of Mary. These pilgrims have included sick people who came away with stories of cure or healing. In the same way, at a holy place in Fatima I meditated before a small statue of Mary. After meditating silently for a few minutes, my group began to leave. For a moment I turned back and saw that small Mary statue actually smile. She was just smiling. I had had this kind of experience one time in India with a Tibetan statue of a Tibetan lama, so when I turned back to the statue in Fatima it was a similar experience. Hopefully, there is not something wrong with my head—but I don’t know [laughter]. We need further investigation to determine whether something that happens is true or not. Still, I did really get the impression that Mary smiled at me. I feel very happy, because I think that perhaps Mary acknowledged my sincere admiration of what Christianity is about. A Compassionate Heart Meditate on Love A Beautiful, Sunny Day Hello! Tashi Delek! It's a beautiful, sunny day, and we are sitting in a field surrounded by a beautiful forest and small, tidy houses. It's really very beautiful, very tidy. Over there, in the cemetery next to this field, is our final destination. Before reaching there, we have a life span of about a hundred years at most, and I believe that period should be utilized to live a meaningful life. A meaningful life means that you are happy yourself and that you bring happiness to other people and create a happier, peaceful environment. That is what I think is meaningful. Therefore, wherever I go there are two things that I always share with others. Number one, we are all sentient human beings, and we all have every right to have a successful, happy life. On the other hand, among people who have just a few material facilities but no luxuries, there are some who are really happy. They worry very little, and even when something happens, they face their difficulties more easily. This shows that it is a mistake to place too much trust in external means, and to allow our hopes and expectations to rely on material goods. We should never forget or neglect our inner values. By inner values I mean feelings of closeness or human affection, in other words, human compassion. Human compassion is the main component of our inner values, and this is the second point that I always share with people. I call these things human values because they come not from religious faith or civil laws or education, but by birth. We are born with these qualities already present, and in fact, without feelings of affection and closeness we cannot survive. For example, just after you are born you see another person. You have no idea who that person is, but biologically you must completely rely on the person who is caring for you, and that is usually your mother. From the mother’s side comes a tremendous sense of caring and concern, and a feeling of closeness. That person, our mother, treats us as even more precious than her own life. The more nurturing and warm feelings that the child receives from its mother, the more the child grows up well and healthy. We can observe that children are much happier when they come from a warm family full of love and affection, and they are physically healthier as well. Mentally they are fresher; they show interest in many things and because of that they learn quickly and in a variety of ways. Proper development on both physical and mental levels is more difficult for children who grow up in a family that is cold, with little love and affection, and it is even worse when there is fear as a result of abuse or trauma. Such children usually exhibit more anger, hatred, and fear, and these negative emotions become dominant. I think that in order to learn the value of human goodness, you don’t need to read many books—you just need to look. We can judge from our own experience.
by Michele Martin His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. On July 6, 1935, he was born into a peasant family living in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. Following Tibetan tradition, he was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are considered to be the manifestations of Chenrezik, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, whose only intention is to benefit others. The Dalai Lama’s name means Ocean of Wisdom.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||