Use the method everybody uses
Posted on 01/16/2010 6:46:41 AM PST by cold start
Vadodara: His Holiness the Dalai Lama is known for his wisdom and witty remarks so no one was surprised when he declared on Friday that he cannot say that Buddhism is the best religion.
Speaking at International Convention on Buddhism in Vadodara, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet said, “We cannot say that one religion is best. I am a Buddhist but I can’t say Buddhism is the best religion. It depends on a person’s perception that what is best for him.”
He further added that, “We should respect all religions. India is a secular country where all the religions are equally respected.”
In a very witty remark, Dalai Lama said, “Mr Modi (Mahabodhi Society of India Patron Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi) told me that Indians consider me a fellow Indian. I must tell you, I am India’s son. My knowledge and my wisdom come from India and I am really proud of it.”
Adding another tongue in cheek remark, Dalai Lama said, “Though I have Tibetan parents so my flesh and blood is Tibetan. But, as a matter of fact, spiritually I am an Indian and physically I am a Tibetan.”
Praising India’s unique culture and communal harmony, Dalai Lama said, “India is unique because it follows a culture of non-violence accepted across religions coexisting in the country. There is not much difference in the cultures of Buddhists and Muslims in India as they both follow the tradition of truth and non-violence.”
He went on to add that, “Indians are ‘Guru’ and we (Tibetans) are ‘Chelas’ because Buddhism originated from India. So, when I travel to different parts of the world, I introduce myself as an Indian messenger. I propagate ‘Ahimsa’ so now my guru India, should start promoting non-violence again.
Continuing his refreshingly witty speech, Dalai Lama further added, “Chinese are the senior students of Buddhism while Tibetans are the junior students. So, whenever I give teachings to Chinese Buddhists, I jokingly tell them that the knowledge of ‘junior students’ is not bad.”
Launching a veiled attack on the Chinese atrocities in Tibet, Dalai Lama said, “The condition of Tibet is in turmoil. I want the heritage of Tibet to be given back to India as it is the only place where they will be in safe hands.”
Dalai Lama was at his spiritual best at the function. Speaking about the importance of satisfaction in life, he said, “I had a friend who was very rich but he was not happy. This shows that money and power don’t necessarily guarantee happiness. One should seek inner peace. This inner peace and spirituality can be achieved through love, compassion and affection.
He also advocated the idea of ‘Vasudhaev Kutumbkam’, saying, “The recently concluded Coopenhagen Summit was like a ray of hope for the world affected badly by global warming. The reason for the failure of the summit was that all the world leaders considered their national interest more important than the global interest. This is a wrong approach.”
Outstanding! Thank you again.
I had heard your first story, but not the second. The second was funny; I can imagine that elderly monk nearly having a heart attack at the thought that he hadn’t escaped that terrifying teacher from his youth, despite all the years that had past. Even more terrifying must have been the thought that that teacher might well end up following him through all his reincarnations, badgering him the whole time.
Crap. Past = passed.
Caffeine hasn’t hit yet.
Buddhism is not a religion. It is not a faith based system. There is no worship or owing any allegiance to a supernatural being.
A religion doesn't necessarily require the worship of a god. It can also be a personal set or institutionalized system of beliefs, and practices...
Both Buddhism and atheism are belief systems. And Atheism, even more than Christianity, has forced itself on Americans.
Um, you might want to google the word “Bushido”
“He that hath meditated Me alone,
In putting off his flesh, comes forth to Me,
Enters into My Being—doubt thou not!
But, if he meditated otherwise
At hour of death, in putting off the flesh,
He goes to what he looked for, Kunti’s Son!
Because the Soul is fashioned to its like.
...
Have Me, then, in thy heart always! and fight!
Thou too, when heart and mind are fixed on Me,
Shalt surely come to Me! All come who cleave
With never-wavering will of firmest faith,
Owning none other gods: all come to Me,
The Uttermost, Purusha, Holiest!
...
For who, none other Gods regarding, looks
Ever to Me, easily am I gained
...
I am alike for all! I know not hate,
I know not favor! What is made is Mine!
But them that worship Me with love, I love;
They are in Me, and I in them!
Nay, Prince!
If one of evil life turn in his thought
Straightly to Me, count him amidst the good;
He hath the highway chosen; he shall grow
Righteous ere long; he shall attain that peace
Which changes not. Thou Prince of India!
Be certain none can perish, trusting Me!
O Prithâ’s Son! whoso will turn to Me,
Though they be born from the very womb of Sin,
Woman or man; sprung of the Vaisya caste
Or lowly disregarded Sudra,—all
Plant foot upon the highest path; how then
The holy Brahmans and My Royal Saints?
Ah! ye who into this ill world are come—
Fleeting and false—set your faith fast on Me!
Fix heart and thought on Me! Adore Me! Bring
Offerings to Me! Make Me prostrations! Make
Me your supremest joy! and, undivided,
Unto My rest your spirits shall be guided.
...
Give Me thy heart! adore Me! serve Me! cling
In faith and love and reverence to Me!
So shalt thou come to Me! I promise true,
For thou art sweet to Me!
And let go those—
Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone!
Make Me thy single refuge! I will free
Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!
...
He only knoweth—only he is free of sin, and wise,
Who seeth Me, Lord of the Worlds, with faith-enlightened eyes,
Unborn, undying, unbegun.
...
Yet not by Vedas, nor from sacrifice,
Nor penance, nor gift-giving, nor with prayer
Shall any so behold, as thou hast seen!
Only by fullest service, perfect faith,
And uttermost surrender am I known
And seen, and entered into, Indian Prince!
Who doeth all for Me; who findeth Me
In all; adoreth always; loveth all
Which I have made, and Me, for Love’s sole end,
That man, Arjuna! unto Me doth wend.”
...
http://www.bartleby.com/45/4/12.html
These are not modern revisionism. These are excerpts from the Bhagavad-Gita.
My point? It is not a monopoly of any specific religion, to demand faith without compromise to one entity. The idea is as old as time. Many a "One True God" have been invented before.
I see science is not the Lama's strong suit. He can't even use his supernatural reincarnate self to see the swindle put on by carbon trading hustlers. What a dope.
Not sure I understand you. Are you saying that absence of belief constitutes a belief by itself. I don’t think you can lump all people without belief into one group whether you call them atheists or anything else and treat them as one homogeneous entity. Its a bit like saying all non Christians form one single group and have the same belief system.
Remember Buddhism believes in Karma.
I have a friend who is a missionary who spent a lot of time in India. He works only in the rural areas. He says the orphans who are sickly are tied with a rope to a post and left to die. They call them rope children. No one is suppose to help them.
He rescued about 10 rope children and found widows to care for them. He was reported and arrested for interfering with their Karma. He was put in prison until the last of the children died. For the last 36 hours of prison the prisoner is hung by his wrists....so he won’t forget.
Adding another tongue in cheek remark, Dalai Lama said, “Though I have Tibetan parents so my flesh and blood is Tibetan. But, as a matter of fact, spiritually I am an Indian and physically I am a Tibetan.”
Guy cracks me up.
Use the method everybody uses
look up the definition of Religion (Websters)... Buddhism does not fit that description. Buddhism is a moral philosophy. It is not really a belief system (I know that it is a very fine line). I was a Christian for 1/2 of my life and then became a Buddhist. It is completely different on so many different levels.
PS I am only speaking from my personal experiences.
It sounds all made-up.
More Missionary bull! Rope children? Arrested for interfering in Karma? That must be under a section of the Indian Penal Code that no one but your friend is familiar with.
I actually looked up “rope children”.
All I found was rock / metal lyrics.
A critical study of Mr. Lama and Tibetan history, coupled with an in depth study (and practice?) of Buddhism - that goes beyond the sort of romanticized platitudes I expect from the Left - would reflect better on this audience here.
“The very idea of the “best religion” is very foreign to a Buddhist way of thought. Humility is not just a Christian virtue. His statement reflects an admirable level of humility.
“
It would be mush-headed stupidity and an abandonment of all He believed if Jesus said it. I cannot imagine why the Dali Lhama does not believe with all of his heart in the religion he heads but it is hard to say that he hasn’t just indicated his own sense of the value of it.
Athiests are not agnostics. Politically motivate athiets who use the courts to wrestle their beliefs upon society have at their core belief that god does not exist. They are not saying they don't belive in god. They are saying there is no god. The argument for the basis for their belief is no stronger than any argument that supernatural beings exist. It's simply belief.
By comparison. By living, seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling. I was raised as a Catholic but by no stretch of the imagination did I swallow any of it whole. What you may be wondering is how people in a closed environment can make a choice. The answer is what Jesus commanded: “Go and tell the world...” Give them an opportunity to make a choice. It's not for nothing that western slaves took the religion of their “masters”....they read the Words and saw nothing in there that indicated that their oppressors were their actual masters.
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