Obama’s gift to Dalai Lama March 17, 2010
Posted by Philip Ryan in : News , trackbackThe Dalai Lama recently said:
Just as you cannot say that one medicine is best and other medicines are not so good, so you cannot say that this religion is best and others are of not much use.
This generosity of spirit is of course refreshing to hear in our troubled times. The Dalai Lama has of course said this or something like it many times before. In the old days this idea that wisdom was parceled out equally among cultures was referred to as “perennial philosophy.” (Thanissaro Bhikkhu spoke briefly on this topic last night at the New York Insight Center.)
Kate Saunders at the Huffington Post wrote about Obama’s gift to the Dalai Lama on the occasion of HH’s visit to the WH last month: a bound edition of the young leader’s letters to Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S Truman in the 1940s and 50s. (They must make rather poignant reading more than fifty years later.) But Saunders rightly points out this thoughtful gift was overshadowed by the same-old, same-old coverage of China’s chest-beating and sword-rattling whenever a head of state glad-hands the DL.
Comments»
Wow! That is awesome. Thanks for sharing it. Very well put concerning the media’s lack of interest in the good truth.
Enlightenment, which is the highest achievement for a living being, comes about independence upon specific causes and conditions, most of which are missing in other religions. There is no conception of emptiness in any religion other than Buddhism. Without realizing emptiness, even permanent liberation from suffering, let alone enlightenment, is impossible.
It’s very nice to say “all religions have equal value” but it’s wrong. Of course all religions based on moral discipline and compassion have value but Buddhism shines above the others because it alone contains the complete methods for attaining liberation and enlightenment. Perennial philosophy as described above is therefore a wrong view. This liberality and ‘generosity of spirit’ comes from not analysing correctly and not understanding what is of ultimate benefit.
If Tricycle is anything to go by in terms of its willy-nilly promotion of views that contradict Buddha’s teachings, even whilst claiming to be a Buddhist review, I fear for the future of Dharma in the world.
Dalai Lama is a sage.
The words of The Dalai Lama are wise, indeed. Very similar to the beliefs in the Baha’i Faith. Contrary to comments listed above (#2), there are conceptions of emptiness in many other religions. Every faith - every Person - will have a different understanding of “emptiness”. Many introductory articles can be found online:
“Notes on Emptiness” by Rabbi Rami:
http://rabbirami.blogspot.com/2010/01/notes-on-emptiness.html
Emptiness in Taoism and Buddhism (comparing Shunyata & Wu):
http://taoism.about.com/od/buddhism/a/emptiness.htm
Even an interesting article discussing the common grounds regarding Emptiness as defined by Buddhism, the Baha’i Faith and Quantum Physics!
http://bahai-library.com/?file=coleman_common_grounds_buddhism
My comments above are simply to point out that, yes, the Dalai Lama is extremely wise. My comments are also to illustrate that there are people in every religion, sadly, that are judgemental and ignorant of other faiths. I think if people like Bill (comment #2) were to actually listen and learn from the Dalai Lama, he may open his own heart and let go of the superiority complex long enough to learn about other faiths before condemning them.
just a thought.
What value can there be in segregating people into two groups: those on the right path and those on the wrong path? Surely, Bill, that is a path of suffering…
Hi Linda,
The value is in discriminating what is the liberating truth and what is not. The ability to tell the difference between the two is given as an important quality for a qualified follower of Buddha. I’m not decrying other religions, of course they have good qualities and of course Buddhas appear as teachers of other religions, but except for the path the Buddha taught -the Four Noble Truths - there is no path to happiness and freedom. It may not be politically correct to say such things these days but I was hoping that at least Buddhists would appreciate this.
Discriminating with wisdom is a cause of happiness, not suffering. It prevents us from making mistakes and leads us to correct paths.
Dear Bill,
The problem is that there are different “strokes” (i.e. religions) for different people. As long as people are different, even as they are the same, different views will appeal to them, lead them closer to happiness and freedom, so who are we to discriminate ultimately among religions? Enlightenment can happen in a Trappist monastery as well as in a Buddhist monastery and corruption can also occur in a Buddhist monastery as well as a Christian one. In the end we are only human and our goals/aims/aspirations are often more than we can achieve. It’s not a matter of political correctness but of accepting our human nature as well as our Buddha potential nature. In doing that we can recognize that sincere practitioners exist in every religion but often find themselves, like Stephen Batchelor, in rebellion against orthodoxy because the individual religious experience is ultimately the goal/aim/aspiration.
Dear Helen,
Thanks for your reply. I totally agree that there are different paths for everyone because we all have different needs and inclinations. Of course there are sincere practitioners in all religions and wonderful examples from all religions who should be deeply respected but we do need to discriminate clearly in our own minds what are the causes of suffering and happiness and what is going to eliminate the first and develop the second until it is eternal. We then need to examine whether the methods to destroy suffering and cultivate happiness exist in a particular religion so that we are not confused on our own spiritual journey. Chandrakirti says in ‘Guide to the Middle Way’ that those outside the system of Master Nagarjuna have no means of peace because they depart from the truths that are needed to attain liberation. Therefore, if a particular religious system does not teach this view and practice, it is not a path to liberation and permanent happiness, no matter what other good qualities it may possess such as teachings on love, compassion and moral discipline. Even amongst Buddhist schools there is much disagreement about the real meaning of these teachings. Wisdom, sadly, is not parcelled out amongst equally amongst all systems. It may be politically correct to say such things, not to say even tactful, but it’s not the non-deceptive truth.
It’s difficult to talk about these things here because no doubt they will be interpreted as being sectarian, but that is not my intention; my intention is only to be as clear thinking as possible and to affirm the unique truths that Buddha taught. I do respect all religions and Dharma is everywhere because all beings have compassion and compassion is taught in all religious systems - however, this cannot liberate us from our sufferings by destroying their causes, only wisdom can, and of wisdom, only the wisdom realizing selflessness that Nagarjuna taught.