The Dalai Lama

I received a magazine in the mail, the Fall 2008 Alumni Bulletin of the University from which I received my Bachelor of Science degree. Highly visible on the front cover was a large photo of the Dalai Lama, accompanied by these three words in large letters - Listen, Learn, Love.
Yes, the Dalai Lama had visited Lehigh University.

What is it with this near-obsession of the Dalai Lama that is exhibited by many people and groups in Western societies? Almost everytime this guy makes a public appearance, praise is heaped upon him. Journalists and editorial writers almost always speak highly of this guy. No one dare speak a bad word about this man, assuming that you do not live in the People's Republic of China. The Dalai Lama? Hey man, peace, love, kindness, compassion, non-violence, joy and spiritual comfort !

Of course I am speaking of the "fourteenth" Dalai Lama, since there have been previous reincarnations of the Dalai Lama. I speak only of the one most recently reincarnated, the man previously known at Tenzin Gyatso who was finally recognized as the current Dalai Lama in 1937.

Yes, the Dalai Lama must surely be an important and wonderful man because he won the Nobel Peace Prize. But then so did other generous, compassionate and peace-loving figures such as Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Al-Sadat, Le Duc Tho, Yitzhak Rabin, Nelson Mandela, Menachem Begin and even Al Gore. (At least the Dalai Lama was never a military man, or a guerilla fighter and leader, as were all of the others that I mentioned. Well, at least Al Gore and Jimmy Carter never saw combat or killed anyone, at least not to my knowledge.)

The Dalai Lama spent over five days at Lehigh University, and the alumni bulletin devoted about fifteen pages to his visit. Some of the writing almost made me gag. For example, the Dalai Lama gave a public lecture at the University, and the alumni bulletin called this lecture historic. (Good gosh, if it were historic, how come I did not hear or read of it from any other source? In any case, how can it really be "historic" when the Dalai Lama has made hundreds of public appearances to date?) The paragraphs below are shown exactly as written in this bulletin:

      For six days in July, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama warmed the hearts of people at Lehigh. Through five-and-a-half days of profound teachings on an ancient Buddhist text and during his sold-out public lecture, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and exiled state leader of Tibet spread his message of compassion and love with humility and humor.
      The Dalai Lama's visit from July 10-15 attracted worldwide media attention to Lehigh's Goodman Campus, with news organizations from as far away as Japan, Korea, and China, as well as Tibetan radio, converging on Bethlehem. People came from every continent except Antarctica to attend the teachings, and they came for many different reasons. The teachings drew Buddhists who wanted to learn from their most revered spiritual leader, as well as non-Buddhists, who were attracted by the Nobel Peace Prize winner's universal message of love and compassion.
      Calling the 20th century a "century of war," he said, "The 21st century should be a century of dialogue." In his talk titled "Generating a Good Heart," the Dalai Lama called on people to cultivate love and compassion in their own hearts, and to embrace nonviolence as the only way to ultimately solve problems in the world.

I must point out the following oddities and misleading words found in the above:

• The Dalai Lama is often called "His Holiness". But is not that title reserved for the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church? Let's not forget that the number of Catholics worldwide is greater than that of any other religion, including Buddhism.   (Yes, yes, I know; it is apparently customary for Buddhists and many other people to often refer to the Dalai Lama as "His Holiness". Still, what about the Pope?)
• Wow! The Dalai Lama read from an ancient text which had profound teachings in it! Not just decent teachings or even "good" teachings, but those that were actually profound!
• It appears that almost all of the Dalai Lama's pronouncements and advice can be reduced to just three words: compassion, love and nonviolence.   Oh, and keep smiling !
• Yes, it is said that the 20th century was a century of war, whereas it should have been a century of dialogue. Well, unless my knowledge of history is abysmal, there was a heck of a lot of dialogue carried out during the 20th century, perhaps more than in any other century. Both World Wars were preceded by much dialogue among countries, perhaps the most memorable being that conducted with Germany prior to World War II, culminating in the now infamous Munich agreement. But almost as memorable was the large amount of continuing dialogue with Japan prior to the Second World War. The 20th century gave us the League of Nations, in which much dialogue was conducted among countries. And then it gave us the United Nations, with even more dialogue conducted among countries and their representatives. Who can forget the near interminable dialogues that were held on Israel, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, Iraq, Iran and so on, to include dialogues conducted with representatives of those regions? And as I write this we now have new "dialogue" going on with Iran, dialogue favored by president Obama. But with what results? Don't talk to me about dialogue. There has been way too much of it, and it has usually been ineffective. Not always, but usually.   (Hey, maybe that's it! Perhaps the Dalai Lama has called for effective dialogue, and that has not been reported! Yes! That's it! We need effective dialogue!)
• What is clearly false, and a damaging piece of advice, is the Dalai Lama's statement that nonviolence is the only way to ultimately solve problems in the world. That is bullcrap. Nonviolence is just one result of a problem-free world. Nonviolence does not cause a problem-free world; it is just one result. A truly problem-free world is impossible, if for no other reason than that everyone will sooner or later die. We can, however, decrease the amount of problems by reducing the hardships of life on this earth, and that is done by increasing the standard of living of all the inhabitants of this earth. Although I have strong and well-founded opinions about how to do this, this is not the place to present those views. I just want to make the point that the "problems" in this world are caused mostly by low standards of living, pain, suffering and death, and that religion often contributes more to those problems instead of providing good solutions. Buddhism certainly does not help, (although you might think otherwise if you believe in all the propaganda about it). It should be obvious to any rational person who uses his or her mind that a call for nonviolence is almost always of no value in increasing living standards and reducing pain and suffering.

The Dalai Lama was presented with an honorary degree, and one of the things he said was, "Until my death, until my last breath, my life is dedicated for service to humanity of this world".   Wow !   Does that mean that he is going to give poor people money so that they can afford medical care? Or is he going to give medical care himself? Or is he going to give poor people other material goods with which to help relieve their urgent worldly needs, such as decent food, clothing and shelter? Of course not! Instead he will give them "love" and "compassion". Ain't that great? (The poor in the United States will, of course, be helped by president Barack Obama.)

The tremendous amount of attention given to the Dalai Lama by Lehigh University during his five+ day visit is almost an abomination. Just what is it with many people, especially most university professors and the so-called "elite", which apparently attracts them to this man? Imagine if you will what would have happened if the Roman Catholic Pope had been invited to speak on the University campus, even for just a three hour visit. There probably would have been hell to pay !   Never mind that the Pope, in a very real sense, represents over one billion people on this planet, to include a very large number in the United States. And never mind the fact that even the Pope often calls for "peace, love and compassion". (Understand that I personally do not care at all for the Pope, just as I do not care for the Dalai Lama.) What bullcrap this obsession is with the Dalai Lama. Oh sure, you could say that the Pope is a Christian leader, and that the history of Christianity in the Western World has been very long and often painful. Witness for example the Inquisition and all the executions carried out on "heretics" by both Catholics and Protestants alike. Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, has no history to speak of in Western Civilization, and only during the past few decades has evidence and practice of Buddhism started to make its way into our society. But in Tibet itself Buddhism has not always been kind and compassionate to those living in the region. As one writer put it, pre-1950 Tibet was a feudal theocracy impaired by corrupt and incompetent leaders. Yes, it was often a Buddhist theocracy, with Buddhist leaders at the top of the pile, many thousands of Buddhists monks in the middle who were usually doing so-so, and nearly everyone else living like poor serfs. (Note that I said "living 'like' poor serfs". After all, I must respect "cultural diversity" and realize that there were not any actual serfs. According to Heido Fjeld, use of the term 'serf' was misleading in relation to the social system of Tibet and instead described it as "a caste-like social hierarchy".)

One news article said the following about the Dalai Lama in order to praise him:

« Installed as an absolute theocratic ruler, the Dalai Lama used his power to reduce his power. He prevailed on exiled Tibetans to adopt a constitution that allows for his own impeachment. He pushed for the democratic election of an exile parliament, cabinet, and prime minister, trying, with intermittent success, to create a separation of monastery and state within his community. His liberalism extends to an embrace of science -- indeed, no other religious figure on earth has done so much to reconcile faith and rationality, ancient insights and modern knowledge. As he wrote in a 2005 New York Times op-ed, "If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change." The Dalai Lama's lifelong struggle for Tibetan autonomy is crucial, first and foremost, for 6 million Tibetans suffering under increasingly draconian Chinese rule. »

Hey Mister Dalai Lama, I've got news for you !   Of what use is a "constitution" for Tibet, the "election of a parliament" for Tibet along with a cabinet and a prime minister when you no longer rule in Tibet and almost certainly never will !   Let's cut the liberal bullcrap !

I realize that the present-day Dalai Lama might very well be a reasonably decent man, as an individual person. But it is hard for me to tell, given the intense and glorious propaganda that is spread on this guy. You see, I am not really objecting too much to this guy himself. For the most part I am objecting to all the intense and widespread adulation that is heaped on this man, all of which can lead to mistaken ideas and potentially harmful results.

Although I said that I am not objecting too much to the Dalai Lama himself, that does not mean that I have no objections at all. I certainly do not like his own decisions to spread "love and compassion" around the world with nothing but words, an occasional show of humor, and a smiling face. These help little, if at all, in truly helping to bring peace throughout the world. Although I have not done a lot of research on this man, I know that many of his actual pronouncements have been odd, off-base, and perhaps even harmful. I recently read that the Dalai Lama said "sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and more freedom." (If that Internet reference is no longer available, it might be available here.) The Dalai Lama said that conjugal life caused "too much ups and downs". His statements clearly show that he favors celibacy, apparently for most everyone, and of course if celibacy is practiced by everybody then this will result in the extinction of the human race. He was even quoted as saying, "Too much attention towards your children, towards your partner," was "one of the obstacles or hindrance of peace of mind". Well now, that is just great !   I was under the impression that too many families have problems because they do not give their children enough attention, and because they do not give enough attention to their partners, instead giving too much selfish attention to themselves, as individuals. Great teaching there, Mister Dalai Lama ! Yes, I am well aware that "sex" is often problematic, but you do not solve sexual problems by just abstaining from sex altogether. You do not solve many problems by simply avoiding doing certain things. (For example, automobiles accidents cause many deaths and injuries; these can be avoided completely if we all stop driving automobiles. As another example, drinking alcoholic beverages causes many deaths, injuries and health problems; these can be avoided completely by never drinking alcoholic beverages, a practice that was attempted by force in the USA by means of prohibition, with ineffective and sometimes harmful results.)

A February, 2010, BBC article entitled Why does the West love the Dalai Lama? makes various up-to-date points about the Dalai Lama, some of which reflect my stated views above.

Oh, I must apologize. I'm sure that many people contribute money to the Dalai Lama. And he probably receives some money which people pay for some of his public appearances; after all, the alumni bulletin did use the word "sold-out" when referring to his public lecture at the university. Now I am sure he must use that money to support himself and his associates, and to pay for his travels. But no doubt he also gives much of that money to help the poor. Now I am not absolutely sure of that, since I do not recall that ever being reported. It certainly was not mentioned in any of the 15 pages devoted to the Dalai Lama in the University Alumni Bulletin. But surely His Holiness does give away much of his money to the poor. And since he is a humble man, he probably does not want his generosity and charity publicized.

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