His holiness the Dalai Lama was in SF this week-end for teachings and encouragement for the displaced people of Tibet. He was at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium one of the venues my company manages. He has been there a couple of times since I became an event manager and my colleges know I have been a follower of his for many years so they are kind enough to let me manage the event when he is in house.
Although he describes himself as "a simple Buddhist monk," the Dalai Lama has inspired millions of people around the world with his teachings on compassion, peace, and religious harmony. As Tibet's leader-in-exile and an international spiritual leader, he has worked for human rights and peace throughout the world and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
He is the friendliest, happiest, most totally sane, wise, and compassionate person I have ever been with. Called the embodiment of the Buddha of compassion, he is eminently human. He is quick to let listeners know of his humanness – putting us at ease and lessening any sense of separation.
He is a truly, deeply happy person. In spite of the devastation of his country and the Tibetan people, and his responsibilities which could be overwhelming and incredibly stressful, he is happy, relaxed, so kind hearted, and always ready to burst out with his endearing chuckle.
One thing I took away from the teachings was that the brain reacts the same way when one has compassion for world suffering as it does when we are actually in the state of suffering. This really emphasizes how important compassion is for world peace and how important it is to incorporate compassion into all of our lives. He has his own delightful personality. The Dalai Lama never claims to be a Buddha, or to be enlightened, or to have any special powers of omniscience. He only claims to have deep faith and conviction in the teachings of the Buddha, and to be truly, deeply, unshakably happy. Not that he doesn't have emotions. He says he can get upset or saddened, but he comes back to center very quickly. The thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the fact that there really are no churches or “hierarchy of leaders” in the organized religious sense; it is a very personal journey and seeing the Dali Lama always reminds me of that.
Although he describes himself as "a simple Buddhist monk," the Dalai Lama has inspired millions of people around the world with his teachings on compassion, peace, and religious harmony. As Tibet's leader-in-exile and an international spiritual leader, he has worked for human rights and peace throughout the world and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
He is the friendliest, happiest, most totally sane, wise, and compassionate person I have ever been with. Called the embodiment of the Buddha of compassion, he is eminently human. He is quick to let listeners know of his humanness – putting us at ease and lessening any sense of separation.
He is a truly, deeply happy person. In spite of the devastation of his country and the Tibetan people, and his responsibilities which could be overwhelming and incredibly stressful, he is happy, relaxed, so kind hearted, and always ready to burst out with his endearing chuckle.
One thing I took away from the teachings was that the brain reacts the same way when one has compassion for world suffering as it does when we are actually in the state of suffering. This really emphasizes how important compassion is for world peace and how important it is to incorporate compassion into all of our lives. He has his own delightful personality. The Dalai Lama never claims to be a Buddha, or to be enlightened, or to have any special powers of omniscience. He only claims to have deep faith and conviction in the teachings of the Buddha, and to be truly, deeply, unshakably happy. Not that he doesn't have emotions. He says he can get upset or saddened, but he comes back to center very quickly. The thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the fact that there really are no churches or “hierarchy of leaders” in the organized religious sense; it is a very personal journey and seeing the Dali Lama always reminds me of that.
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