Today began with us arriving early to Choglamsar. Maybe it was the driver, or maybe there was simply less traffic, but either way it was fortunate. Vanessa and I quickly found seats, and the Dalai Lama came on stage just a few moments later. He was beginning a full hour earlier than the past two days.
He began by quickly recounting the main ideas of the past two days’ teachings, with a special focus on the ability to use reason and logic to understand the teachings of the Buddha. This introduction led into a short discussion about the relationship between modern science and Buddhism. The Dalai Lama explained that modern science uses observations and inferences to make sense of the material world. But even with a complete understanding of the material world, one is not truly happy. He stressed that the mind also needs to be understood and in good health, in order for one to be happy. He explained that Buddhism, and especially Tibetan Buddhism, investigates the mind in the same way that scientists investigate the world. The main point was to emphasize the links between science and religion, as opposed to assuming that they are mutually exclusive.
The Dalai Lama then focused on the way in which Buddhists follow the dharma. He stressed that it’s important for monks to closely learn the scriptures and apply reason to them. Without any sort of a critical tone, he stressed that it’s most important for Buddhists to follow the dharma as closely as possible and be less worried with how nice the monastery is. At the same time he was encouraging the monks in the crowd to be good Buddhists, he also encouraged monks to supplement their study of the Buddhist teachings with studies of other “modern subjects.” He saw the two types of studies as being beneficial to monks who will be able to see how the dharma applies to this world.
The Dalai Lama also encouraged followers of one Buddhist tradition to study other traditions. He saw this sort of study as helping Buddhists better understand their own traditions. He referred to this sort of exploration as cultivating a “pure vision.” I was especially drawn to this idea, since he was looking at education in a more cosmopolitan light. He understood that studying multiple subjects and learning about other traditions not only exposes you to those subjects, but it helps you to better understand and appreciate those traditions in which you were raised. My favorite part of this section of the talk was his last sentence in which he warned that if one becomes too attached to one’s own tradition, it’s easy to become prejudiced towards other traditions. That lesson seems so crucial in today’s interconnected world. I often think that too many Americans think the American way of doing things is the only way. It helps to adopt a more cosmopolitan perspective.
After about an hour of these opening comments, the Dalai Lama went back to the discussing the texts that he was discussing yesterday. He resumed with the discussion of how one understands what the “I” is. His explication of the texts was a bit confusing, and I think the translator was having difficulty finding the right words to use to explain the Dalai Lama’s ideas. At the same time, one of the main elements of this discussion was the importance of continued investigation of the I. He emphasized that one must keep using reason in order to understand this complicated issue. It was so refreshing to hear a spiritual leader emphasize how much more important logically exploring the texts and the teachings is than simply taking his words on faith.
The explication of the texts only lasted a short while, and then a period of initiations began. These initiations were different from yesterday, since they were intended for monks. A lot of what was going on was confusing, and the translator was often just repeating what the Dalai Lama said instead of translating. At the same time, it was obvious from the rituals happening on stage, that the initiations were important. It was a slightly disappointing way to end three days of teachings confused about what was happening in front of me, but at the same time I know that I have learned so much in the last few days. The Dalai Lama really has an amazing ability to connect teachings about Tibetan Buddhism to much larger issues. It’s truly inspiring.
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