I was a latecomer to appreciating the culture of Tibet. For three decades, I was content with my mindfulness-oriented Buddhist practice. Even though, in the 1990s, I attended a daylong teaching with the Dalai Lama and sympathized with the victims of the Tibetan diaspora, I had little interest in the country's teachings, history, and culture. So much about the teachings, history, and culture seemed…weird.1
That began to change on January 4, 2016, when I found Lama Surya Das as my teacher and began to follow the Vajrayana path. I’m also now a student of Vajrayana teachers Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Anam Thubten Rinpoche. The Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism started in India around the Fifth Century, was brought to Tibet by Padmasambhāva in the Eighth Century, and became central to Tibetan culture after it expanded through the region in the Tenth Century.
Now, Vajrayana Buddhism is almost synonymous with Tibetan Buddhism, but I use “Vajrayana” because so many practitioners, teachers, and scholars are no longer situated in Tibet. I’ve grown to love not only the Vajrayana teachings but also the culture of traditional (pre-Chinese occupation) Tibet, as I understand it. (If that means I’ve become weird, so be it.)
As described by those who lived in Tibet before the Chinese takeover in the 1950s, it could almost be called a Shangri-La. Imagine living in a land where 90% of the population practiced Buddhism and 25% were monastics. When I took the daylong teaching by the Dalai Lama, it was on the Lojong (Mind Training) verses he told us he had been reciting every morning since childhood. Imagine living in a devoutly religious land whose spiritual leader begins every day with:
With a determination to achieve the highest aim For the benefit of all sentient beings Which surpasses even the wish-fulfilling gem, May I hold them dear at all times. Whenever I interact with someone, May I view myself as the lowest amongst all, And, from the very depths of my heart, Respectfully hold others as superior. In all my deeds may I probe into my mind, And as soon as mental and emotional afflictions arise- As they endanger myself and others- May I strongly confront them and avert them. When I see beings of unpleasant character Oppressed by strong negativity and suffering, May I hold them dear-for they are rare to find- As if I have discovered a jewel treasure! When others, out of jealousy Treat me wrongly with abuse, slander, and scorn, May I take upon myself the defeat And offer to others the victory. When someone whom I have helped, Or in whom I have placed great hopes, Mistreats me in extremely hurtful ways, May I regard him still as my precious teacher. In brief, may I offer benefit and joy To all my mothers, both directly and indirectly, May I quietly take upon myself All hurts and pains of my mothers. May all this remain undefiled By the stains of the eight mundane concerns; And may I, recognizing all things as illusion, Devoid of clinging, be released from bondage.
The avuncular holy man—Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama—spoke for 45 minutes on each of the verses, followed by a 15-minute break during which he circulated among the students warmly greeting old friends. This was in the mid or late 1990s on the campus of George Washington University.
He was born on July 6, 1935, identified in 1937 as the tulku (reincarnation) of the 13th Dalai Lama, and enthroned in 1940 in Lhasa, Tibet. In 1959, amid an uprising in Lhasa against the growing Chinese occupation and clampdown on Tibetan spiritual life, the Dalai Lama escaped and set up a government in exile in India. He and the government established their home base in Dharamshala, where they have remained since 1960.
The Dalai Lama underwent successful knee replacement surgery on June 28 in New York City and, after his recovery, returned to Dharamshala on August 28. He will turn 90 on July 6 of next year. He has reportedly indicated that he will decide by then whether to be reincarnated. In a 2004 interview, he said this about a possible successor:
The institution of the Dalai Lama, and whether it should continue or not, is up to the Tibetan people. If they feel it is not relevant, then it will cease and there will be no 15th Dalai Lama. But if I die today I think they will want another Dalai Lama. The purpose of reincarnation is to fulfill the previous [incarnation's] life task. My life is outside Tibet, therefore my reincarnation will logically be found outside. But then, the next question: Will the Chinese accept this or not? China will not accept. The Chinese government most probably will appoint another Dalai Lama, like it did with the Panchen Lama. Then there will be two Dalai Lamas: one, the Dalai Lama of the Tibetan heart, and one that is officially appointed.
He has raised the possibility that the next Dalai Lama will be a woman and that he might choose a successor and transfer his spiritual heritage before he does.
Meanwhile, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is setting its own stage for whatever will happen next. On September 3, the High-Level Tibetan Buddhism College of China, a Beijing-based school that trains PRC-recognized Tibetan Buddhist monks, convened a seminar to review the regulations regarding tulkus.
According to the Tibetan Review, more than 50…
…monks and religious experts attended [the] seminar, which discussed policies and regulations for the “reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism.”
While the seminar did not seem to have named the current, 14th Dalai Lama, going by the news reports on it, it was obviously more about him and his reincarnation than anything else.
Tibetan Buddhists, according to the PRC, should “fully understand” that they must follow “historical customs,” including government approval, for reincarnations.
Over the next ten months and for the remainder of his time in the human realm, may the Dalai Lama continue to have the grace, goodwill, serenity, compassion, and wisdom that have guided him in the past as he faces this next challenge.
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For the musical bonus, one of the Dalai Lama’s favorite mantras.
My use of this word does not indicate an identification with any political party. 😃