Haters of the Dalai Lama, judging him with a picture or a small clip they saw, must understand that they are not hurting an old spiritual man but the very manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva who represents compassion. In other words, for us Tibetans, he is our god. Now, imagine any other religious figure of any faith or their messiah being trashed like that for nothing.
There are also those that call themselves atheists and see an old lustful man in that video or the picture. Ask yourself as an atheist, like we Buddhists do, because Buddhism is an atheistic religion that does not have a creator and is based on logic, reasoning and learning, which leads to acceptance and practice. Did you atheists try to find out the entire story behind the picture or the doctored video?
I’ve been waiting in India to begin a documentary series project: Search: Finding the Dalai Lama for nearly a month now. It is an attempt that started more than a decade ago. So it’s not just a passion project but an attempt to tell the world about the genesis of the Dalai Lama lineage. How? Why? When? All these questions about the Dalai Lama institution will be dramatised and answered, not to propagate but to let the world learn that the core purpose of the Dalai Lama lineage is to spread compassion and peace in the world. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th. Obviously, there were 13 before him.
“As long as space endures, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world.”
Some days ago, an “almost sensational” news grabbed the world. What happened? That was the reaction I got when a friend frantically called and another passed me a clip of a video going viral. Some lowlifes had used publicly available footage of a Dalai Lama event and doctored it to narrate a story of child abuse!
Media, as usual, grabbed it and spread it further. People started churning out blogs for their subscribers. I had watched that event live and although I did feel many would misunderstand the gesture, I forgot about it because it was not a big deal for us Tibetans. I still kiss my grown-up daughter on her lips when I say goodbye. I know the West would show disapproval but she is my only daughter and she is who I care about the most, not anyone else.
My affection and care is pure. His Holiness’s gesture to the boy was far more than that. Just the mere fact that the kid got close and hugged him is considered a blessing that none of us Tibetans would ever get, not only in this life but in many others. So you see, those who spewed hate and continue to do so, have no idea how much they have hurt us. Yet, we remain non-violent. Well, that is what His Holiness has taught us. He says the enemy is your best teacher. They allow you to use your compassion. You can practice it, otherwise, even compassion remains a theory, he says.
A young boy in attendance, at a public event organised by his parents, who are seated next to the Dalai Lama, asks His Holiness for a hug. His Holiness calls him up. They hug. They bond. His Holiness then begins his playful self. After a kiss on the cheek, he says now you can kiss my lips. That barely happens and he continues the jest asking the kid to suck his tongue. My mother used to do that to us when we were kids. It means that she has given us everything and is left with nothing but her tongue to satisfy our hunger. Was my mother abusing us? It is foolish to even contemplate that. Perhaps, if she was alive and did that in public today to her grandkids, she would be called a child abuser and separated from her family. Ridiculous!
The incident happened a month ago. Suddenly, news reports and online trolls began to appear which had nothing but dark intentions to malign him. The President of the Central Tibetan Administration said at a press conference that they found the source to be people that are ‘Pro-China’ propagandists.
I believe him.
But, the damage was done. Hate was so toxic that I was shocked like all Tibetans and literally couldn’t work for a few days. A person working with me on the documentary, calling it a ‘spiritual journey’, throughout our development phase up to this moment, suddenly had an opinion too. He decided to pull out and said, “Pema, no one wants to be attached with the Dalai Lama anymore. These people are working in the media and have an image to protect!” I felt the world must be coming to an end. There’s so much fear and hate here.
Avalokiteśvara and gods must be crazy, I said to myself, for them to manifest or send such precious souls on earth for us humans to hate and destroy over and over. They should leave us alone and watch from their abode in comfort. We will destroy ourselves with our hateful skills. Perhaps then they could think of a different beginning.
My parents came into exile through Mustang, Nepal. So, I bought my mother’s ashes there with the belief that she could feel she has reached home in some way. Every Tibetan lives with that hope. Someday, they will return home to Tibet with His Holiness. This hope keeps us believing in peace and non-violence. After two generations of living in exile, frustration and anger does build up, especially when helplessness is seen as a disability.
A child was born in 1391 to a nomadic family. The same night bandits looted them. The mother hid her newly born child under a rock to protect him. The next day, when she returned, a miracle was seen. A big raven was protecting the child from predators! This supernatural birth incident aside, the child showed extraordinary spiritual desire and became a scholar of repute eventually. His ordained name was Gedun Drubpa.
When the time for his passing came, his desire to continue serving all sentient beings emerged in the form of his prayer, “Like me, the countless living beings have been wandering in cyclic existence. Many times they have been parents to me and shone radiant kindness upon me. How unworthy not to respond to their sorrow. For the sake of all living beings, I must strive in the practice of bringing enlightenment.”
Two years after his passing, a child was born in a small village who remembered everything about Gedun Drubpa’s life. This mystical relationship to the previous life compelled Gedun Drubpa’s students to bring the child to the Tashi Lhunpo monastery, which was built by their master and tested him. The child recognised people and objects clearly from his previous life. This is the genesis of the lineage that eventually came to be known as the Dalai Lama lineage.
The fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso, became the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet in 1642 with the support of his die-hard Mongolian followers. Actually, it is a perfect story of compassion in action with clear tangible results. Who doesn’t know about Chengiz Khan, the great conqueror? But do you know that his grandson, Altan Khan, became a devotee of the third Dalai Lama and he actually gave the title ‘Talai Lama’ to his master and converted his entire nation to Buddhism? Imagine the world’s most powerful force at one time becoming peaceful and non-violent forever. Isn’t that something everyone would want eventually for the entire world?
Tibet-India-China geopolitics will remain unresolved as long as Tibet is occupied. So, the Dalai Lama matters not only for the big world peace picture that Tibetans see but for India, it is national security.
The entire communist regime in China is struggling to defeat this simple monk. They’ve learned it is impossible to win morality with guns or wealth so they use propaganda. Their goal is to control the next Dalai Lama. After the present Dalai Lama passes, the Chinese Communist Party has declared that they will find and install the next.
An atheist government claiming to know about spiritual succession is a joke. Yet, we have seen governments bend backwards for economic and other reasons to accommodate China and the ridiculous demands they make. ‘You can’t meet the Dalai Lama. Don’t grant him a visa. Don’t release his film and whatnot.’ Can you now see the big picture of why misleading propaganda is their new weapon?
I set out to make a film on such an institution and lineage not because I have the enormous resources required or I can do it alone, but because it should be made. The world should see how such a lineage has contributed to peace not only in Tibet, Mongolia and China but also around the world now. If there’s one spiritual figure that can stand on its moral authority in the present day and time, it is the Dalai Lama. The world needs such a moral idol now and will need him even more in the coming time when hate and fear take a further grip on our lives.
His Holiness says all actions should be judged by a person’s motivation. “If you are truthful and honest with yourself, then you will be a truly happy person.” He laughs pulling the long beard of an Indian sadhu and hugs him at the end. That is what happened in that incident too. The Dalai Lama’s motivation was pure. Check your motivation next time before judging and commenting on anything anywhere, even online. You will be a happy person.
Pema Dhondup Gakyil, who is professionally credited as Pema Dhondup, is a Tibetan film director and actor. He directed and produced ‘The Man from Kathmandu’. Views expressed are personal.
Read all the Latest Opinions here
Comments
0 comment