TruthBook Religious News Blog

From Kiran Khalid

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A potential victim became a compassionate counselor during a recent robbery attempt, changing the would-be criminal's mind -- and apparently his religion.

Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money.

"He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV.

Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his gun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees.

"He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' "

Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion.

He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.

Labels: compassion, Kiran Khalid, religion, robbery

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Monday, April 27, 2009

Major points of convergence within great spiritual traditions

Friday, April 24, 2009
By Rev. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI

When we look at all the major world religions, we see that they are more similar than dissimilar in how we understand the spiritual quest...we can draw out these major points of convergence:

---First, in all of them the aim of the spiritual quest is the same: union with God and union with everyone and everything else.

---Second, in all the great spiritual traditions the path to union is understood as coming through compassion.

---Third, in every great spiritual tradition, the route to compassion and union with God is paradoxical, requiring that somehow we have to lose ourselves to find ourselves, die to come to life, and give so as to receive.

---Fourth, every great spiritual tradition is clear that spiritual progress requires hard discipline and some painful renunciations, that the road-more-traveled won't get you home.

---Fifth, every great spiritual tradition tells us that the spiritual quest is a life-long journey with no short-cuts, no quick paths, no hidden secrets, and no appeal to privilege that can short-circuit the discipline and renunciation required.

All the great religious traditions agree: The road is narrow and hard and there are no short-cuts.

Please click on "external source" for the remainder of the similarities between religions, and an expanded understanding of these important points of religious convergence.

Labels: compassion, faith, God, Rev. Ronald Rolheiser, spirituality, unity, world religions

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Friday, March 27, 2009

Faith In Focus: Meditation as a spiritual practice

By James Bowman, Special to the Sentinel,
March 26, 2009

NOTE: Another kind of meditation is to be found here - called "Jesus-Style" meditation, it is a different, and very effective form of meditation practiced by the Master while he walked the earth.

What is meditation? Depending on who you ask, you might get a variety of different answers.

These days, many people are interested in meditation because it relieves stress and contributes to overall health and fitness.

For millennia, meditation has not only been a way to relax, but also a very important part of spiritual life for Buddhists.

If you have ever been to a group meditation, you know that everyone sits silently, and it can be hard to know what’s happening. This is how it works: In a single meditation session we actually engage in two types of meditation, one called analytical meditation and the other called placement meditation.

First, it is helpful to begin by taking a few moments to allow the flurry of distracting thoughts that normally consumes our minds to settle. One simple way to do this is to sit comfortably and focus on the sensation of the breath as it passes through the nostrils. With practice, distractions gradually diminish, and a peaceful feeling arises in their place.

Then, with our minds clear and free of distractions, we can begin analytical meditation. With this type of meditation we spend time analyzing or contemplating the meaning of a spiritual teaching.

For example, Buddha explained that having compassion for others leads to inner peace. If we deeply contemplate how others have been very kind to us, the disadvantages of selfish attitudes and the advantages of cherishing others, we will be able to develop a caring attitude toward others.

Once this caring attitude arises in our minds, we have found what we call the object of our meditation, which is said to be virtuous because it causes our mind to become peaceful and happy.

At this point we stop contemplating and begin the second type of meditation, placement meditation. This means we simply hold our caring attitude toward others for as long as possible without thinking of anything else. Gently allow your mind soak it up and become familiar with it. If the object of meditation is lost among other thoughts, then simply repeat the process, beginning with analytic meditation again.

Labels: Buddhism, compassion, James Bowman, meditation, peace, spirituality

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

4 Spiritual Steps To Coping With The Recession

Jonathan Ellerby
Posted March 24, 2009

Most of our spiritual traditions would agree that the path to true happiness and peace is an inner one, and one that we actually have a great deal of influence over. Here are 4 of the most helpful pointers I have found useful for people in chaotic times; these are the same qualities that emerge naturally as a person commits to a sincere spiritual practice, like those I outline in my new book "Return to the Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awakening."

1. Look for the lesson. It is hard to admit, but yes, even the most awful things can teach us. The best qualities, such as patience, forgiveness, love, trust, and altruism, are more powerfully learnt in the times that test us. Ask yourself, what you can learn about yourself or life from the situation? What can you do differently in the future? What great quality is being tested in you?

2. Find the opportunity. Simple things can block our view of what might be right before us. A fence, a hedge, a billboard sign - take it away and suddenly you see more. When the familiar is taken from us it is natural to grieve. It is also important to look to see what is revealed. With each change in life the landscape is renewed and you may discover aspects of yourself you have forgotten or long wanted to explore. Look for new opportunities every chance you get.

3. Be compassionate. This means to yourself and others. Remember compassion is more like loving-empowerment than just making people happy. It means to respect your limits, share your talents, help others, but not at your own expense. It doesn't mean rescuing people all the time or taking away their own process of growth and learning. Compassion means to be supportive while the hard lessons are learned. Practice being kind - nurture yourself, be nice to others. It's a kindergarten rule, but will change your life if you stick to it.

4. Commit to Inner Intentions. Outer intentions are about the things we want to have and do. Inner intentions are about our character, and how we do things. Things like perfect health, wealth, sex, or jobs are illusive and impossible to control over time. Inner intentions like the desire to be forgiving, patient, good-humored, adaptable or true to your word, are all intentions that only you can shape and choose. No matter how hard times get, you r inner intentions can always be pursued and met. In fact hard times are the best times to practice the finest qualities of being human.

Labels: compassion, Jonathan Ellerby, learning, lessons, opportunity, recession, the economy

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Global Shift : How A New Worldview Is Transforming Humanity

Book Review
Global Shift : How A New Worldview Is Transforming Humanity by Edmund Bourne.
December 16, 2008 by Admin

The purpose of this book is to describe a fundamental shift in humanity’s way of viewing the world. Such a shift has been developing over the past three decades and will continue to evolve through much of the twenty-first century. The shift accompanies a profound rite of passage that the earth and its people are going through now and in the future.

In order to best understand the future and what one needs to do to change, you must first examine present problems and how they came to be. Therefore, the first part of the book looks at the adverse effects of the dominant worldview, and how it has compromised our collective ability to move forward. The primary problem is that the current worldview promotes a separatism that has been encoded into many of our social and economic institutions. It has led individuals and groups to prioritize their needs over the good of the whole, to exploit others and the natural environment, and to disassociate their own well-being from that of the world around them.

However, there are scientific advances and philosophical developments that have contributed to a broader understanding of who we are and what we are capable of becoming. The book also illustrates how paradigm shifts are showing up in a variety of institutional settings, and then goes on to describe personal transformational practices that readers can implement in their daily lives. There are practical and realistic ways to live a life that is consistent with enlightened values and core beliefs, such as compassion and sustainability, and that can perpetuate our potential for an evolved consciousness and way of life.

The book concludes with several more practical chapters. Given the broad changes in the way we perceive the world, what actions and personal practices are consistent with this new vision? In short, how does each of us implement the new paradigm in the way we lead our daily lives? In “Transformative Practices: Aligning the Inner Self with a Conscious Universe,” Bourne describes practices such as voluntary simplicity, caring for one’s body, nonviolent communication, forgiveness, mindfulness, inclusive (global) thinking, and letting go that can foster personal healing, as well as bring our lives into alignment with the needs of the planet and a conscious universe. And in the chapter, “Healing the Planet,” he describes specific actions the reader can take to help the environment and other global issues.

Labels: compassion, Edmund Bourne, Global Shift, separatism, worldview

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Dalai Lama describes himself as 'just one monk'

Fri, Jul. 18, 2008

By David O'Reilly
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The most famous Buddhist in the world insists he is "nothing special."

"I am just an ordinary human being," the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said yesterday, one day after his daylong visit to Philadelphia.

Some people think of him "as a living Buddha," he said, and laughed. "Nonsense."

Others revere him as "a god-king."

"Nonsense," he said again, this time leaning his head back as he laughed.

"Then some describe me as a demon, or a wolf with a Buddhist robe. That also I think is nonsense.

"I am just one monk. That is all."

And that was how the 73-year-old Dalai Lama came across in an interview: spiritual, intelligent, extroverted, eager to make a personal connection, and, above all, happy.

He claps you on the shoulder to make a point. He leans forward to listen to a question, looking right into your eyes. He turns serious, then breaks out in a broad smile that just may explode into a belly laugh.

"Talking with people" and engaging with others as "human brothers and sisters" is what makes him happy, the Dalai Lama said, sitting in a chair in his room at the Four Seasons.

And when he hears that his teachings have changed a life and made a person happier, "I feel my life becomes something purposeful."

In person he seems not to have a care in the world.

Yet this man in a simple gold and red robe has carried the troubles of Tibet on his bare shoulders since he was a small boy.

In 1937, when he was just 2, a delegation of senior monks arrived at his parents' farm and pronounced him the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama: head of state for all Tibet and spiritual leader of all the millions of Buddhists in his country as well as Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan, northern India, and the rest of the high Himalayas.

He might have lived a life of isolation, little known to the outside world, had not Communist China invaded the capital of his mountaintop nation in 1951.

The boy-king was just 16.

After eight years of fruitless accommodation with the Communists, whose troops demolished an estimated 6,000 monasteries in the hope of wiping out Buddhism, he fled on foot in the dead of winter to neighboring Nepal.

Later he moved to the northern India village of Dharamsala, where he and his followers built the monastery complex that serves as his home and headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile.

By force of his personality and spirituality, he as grown from a minor Cold War figure to someone akin to pope of the world's Buddhists, and the face of Eastern spirituality to many in the West.

In 1989 he won the Nobel Peace Prize, and still leads the struggle to regain Tibet's independence from China while circling the globe to lecture on tantric, or Tibetan, Buddhism.

He is "hopeful" and "optimistic" that the world will become a better place in the 21st century, he said, provided people promote the "inner values" of peace and compassion at the heart of Buddhism.

But he does not anticipate the West will turn Buddhist - a prospect that worried Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders.

"I don't think so," the Dalai Lama said. "A few hundred thousand, even a few million," might convert. "But the majority will remain Christian, as it should be."

Some Buddhist practices, such as meditation, "can be used according to your own faith. . . . Already some Christian monks and Christian ministers are practicing Buddhist methods or techniques without changing their religion."

The goal for any human is to "minimize such emotions as fear, hatred," he said, and "try to increase love, compassion with forgiveness."

"On that level, I don't think there's much difference between Eastern or Western religion," he said.

He has turned over much of the administration of the Tibetan government-in-exile over to others, he said, and so is "semiretired" from that duty.

But as for the other two duties of the Dalai Lama - "promotion of human values and promotion of religious harmony . . . till my death I am committed."

Labels: Buddhism, compassion, Dalai Lama, David O'Reilly, forgiveness, love, religion, Tibet

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Friday, July 11, 2008

Dalai Lama tells us to 'reprioritize, revalue'

By Lloyd Steffen
July 9, 2008

Why is the Dalai Lama thought to be important? Fair question.

There have been many spiritual leaders, many different heads of state, even other exiled heads of state, and quite a few Nobel Peace Prize winners -- so why is this man, who describes himself always as ''a simple monk,'' important? Let me suggest three reasons.

First of all, the Dalai is an extraordinary teacher and a gifted communicator. His fame derives from his efforts to stay in constant communication. He is a New York Times best selling author many times over, able to reach wide audiences; he is a lecturer to hundreds of thousands of people across the globe -- a true global citizen; and he is the subject of many films and documentaries, including Martin Scorsese's bio-pic, ''Kundun.'' The Dalai Lama has succeeded in translating central ideas from his Buddhist tradition to people in a way -- and through all kinds of media -- that speaks to their common spiritual needs and longings, regardless of whether they are Buddhist or even religious at all. But he has also taught Buddhism along the way. Much of what many people know about Buddhism comes from their encounter with the Dalai Lama, who has connected with people as only great teachers can, embodying in his life and words a message that speaks to the great questions about life and its meaning.

Second, the Dalai Lama is important because of the specifics of his message. The Dalai Lama reminds us that we are all in the same boat, that suffering is our common condition. He humbly suggests that we are responsible for one another, and that geographic boundaries should be no impediment to our sense of responsibility. We are all connected. And we all want the same thing out of life -- we want happiness. His teaching, then, is designed to illuminate the pathways that might get us to happiness. Learn patience. Show tolerance. Seek wisdom. Forgive. Make love your aim as well as your mode of operation. Offer compassion and help those who are in need. Calm yourselves and seek peace within -- meditate. Bring peace to the world through a life of care and empathy. Shun violence and hatred. Channel anger and overcome fear. Build your life around these values, rejecting the excesses of materialism and the temptations to resolve conflict by resorting to violence. Make kindness your ethic. You cannot be too kind.

These are messages that can be found many places, including the religion of Christianity. What is unusual about the Dalai Lama as teacher is that he has extracted these messages from theological trappings and offered them as wise counsel and living directives to those seeking spiritual enlightenment. This is radical business and the kind of teaching that many Christians find difficult, since in many versions of Christianity the message about what is required to do is subordinated to requirements about belief. The Dalai Lama dissociates the two-- he focuses on the doing, on the requirements of peaceful living and wisdom seeking. He does not force his Tibetan beliefs on those outside his tradition -- when people tell him they don't accept reincarnation he laughs and says, ''How could you? How is that a part of your life?''

And this leads to a third consideration. The Dalai Lama is important because the challenge of his message is this: ''Stop doing business as usual.'' The idea that we can find peace through force of arms or happiness through acquisition is illusory. He urges people to rethink what they want and how to get what they want, and with so much misery and unhappiness in the world, the way to happiness will not come from doing things as we are used to doing them. Reprioritize and revalue, he seems to be saying. Emphasize dialogue, not confrontation. Think about cooperation rather than competition. Think about advancing the interests of others as much as you do advancing your own. Make every encounter with another person the greeting of a new friend. And when you are told this is impractical, remind your skeptic that if we do not reshift to an alternative set of values and refocus our concern to include all others, even the well-being of the planet itself, we imperil our very existence.

The Dalai Lama relates this message from his Buddhist sources -- it is not an alien message for me as a Christian. What I celebrate is that the Dalai Lama has found a way to make this message heard today, even if it is through massive media exposure and paper doll cut out books. The message goes to the hope for human happiness. The message is that business as usual is a well doomed to run dry, and alternative values, an alternative spirituality, will be required to energize peaceful and meaningful life in the days ahead. The Dalai Lama offers an alternative path away form the present unhappiness; he emphasizes a way of living that challenges what most of us value and how most of us live-and that, for me, is why the Dalai Lama stands in a long line of great spiritual teachers; that for me is why the Dalai Lama is so important.

Lloyd Steffen is professor of religion studies and chaplain at Lehigh University.

Labels: Buddhism, China, compassion, Dalai Lama, kindness, Lloyd Steffen, love, Tenzin Gyatso, Tibet

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Dalai Lama: Lessons of Buddhism as applied to medicine

By JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY, Star Tribune

Last update: April 16, 2008

(Page 1 of 2. Click on external link for complete article)

He admits his mind is scattered by the events of the last month and he's worried. But despite the Dalai Lama's troubled feelings about turmoil between his native Tibet and China, he is sleeping well.

Abiding by Buddhism's teachings has helped him maintain peace and compassion in the face of life's trials, the Dalai Lama told 400 doctors and nurses Wednesday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

"If there is no solution, why worry?" he replied when asked how he maintains his good cheer and optimism in the midst of life's trials. "If there is a solution, why worry?"

The Dalai Lama was in Rochester for his annual check-up at the Mayo Clinic. But in the afternoon, he spoke with the clinic's doctors and nurses about compassion, and his concern that health care workers can be emotionally exhausted by dealing with the pain of others day after day.

The crowd stood in respectful silence as he entered a conference room at the world-renowned clinic and made his way to the stage. He and a group of monks stood out in their brilliant red and yellow robes, like birds of paradise amidst a Minnesota crowd wearing dark suits and sensible pants. In a nearby hotel, 300 Tibetans gathered to watch by video link.

The crowd at the clinic listened intently as he began a philosophical discussion about compassion and trust, and how to apply the lessons of Buddhism to modern western medicine.

To many in the room, he represented two worlds. The Dalai Lama is believed by Tibetans to be a manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion, who chose to be reincarnated to serve human beings. In that role, he is a spokesman for the compassionate and peaceful resolution of human conflict.

But he is also a great student of science and has supported western researchers studying the power of the mind in relation to illness and healing.

"This is part of the future of medicine," said Dr. Doris Taylor, a stem cell researcher specializing in cardiac medicine at the University of Minnesota. "We are beginning to have a scientific understanding of this. I couldn't not be here."

"We see so many patients that we can only get to a certain point in healing," said Dr. Tim Johnson, director of Mayo's Austin clinic. "That mind-body spiritual connection is often something that is missing in our patients and ourselves. But it's important in their health and well-being."

Tough compassion

"What do you see as the role of compassion in medicine?" asked Daniel Goleman, a psychologist who writes about the brain and emotion, and who led the discussion.

The Dalai Lama scratched his nose for a minute while pondering the question.

"One time in Japan, a doctor asked me about trust between patients and doctors," he said. "Trust is very important. Then he asked me how to develop trust. I don't know. But the key thing is the doctor's sense of concern. His sense of commitment, his sense of responsibility with affection. Genuine affection for the patient. That is the basis of trust." Trust, he noted, needs to be mixed with compassion.

But he also urged what Goleman said might best be described by the phrase "tough love." Compassion, the Dalai Lama said, doesn't mean pity or pure empathy. Sometimes, nurses just have to be stern with difficult patients, he added.

Goleman asked how Buddhist practices could reduce emotional stress for health care workers.

"Joy," replied the Dalai Lama -- joy in the pursuit of work is very important, particularly in health care. "You are directly involved in relieving the suffering of the person in front of you," he said. "Recognizing the value of that will sustain your joy in your work."

But equally important, he said, is that each of us aspire to our own happiness, that on a fundamental level we care for ourselves.

Labels: compassion, Dalai Lama, Josephine Marcotty, medicine, Richard Tsong-Taatarii

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Friday, March 28, 2008

Karen Armstrong - Charter for Compassion

As she accepts her 2008 TED Prize, author and scholar Karen Armstrong talks about how the Abrahamic religions -- Islam, Judaism, Christianity -- have been diverted from the moral purpose they share to foster compassion. But Armstrong has seen a yearning to change this fact. People want to be religious, she says; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help her build a Charter for Compassion -- to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine.

Labels: Christianity, compassion, God, Golden Rule, Islam, Judaism, Karen Armstrong, religion, video

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A pious nation?

Though the United States is considered a deeply religious country, a glance at America today reveals a society divided by wealth and poverty, tainted by violence and often oblivious to the common good. A country of believers? Perhaps. But saying is one thing, doing quite another.

By Tom Krattenmaker

There can be no doubting the piety of American society in this, the first decade of the 21st century. It's old news by now: The powerful influence of conservative Christians on culture and politics. An outwardly Christian president in the White House. Survey data showing the vast majority of Americans pray, believe in God and consider religion important in their lives.

"Pious," however, means something different than "religious." While both convey devotion to God and ultimate truth, "pious" also suggests showiness, sanctimony, even hypocrisy — a gap between words and action. Such a gap, unfortunately, seems glaringly on display when we survey the social landscape around us. If one is to judge by our care for the common good, American society today is more pious than consistently and truly religious.

Let's start with violence, a phenomenon hard to square with New Testament teachings about living in peace and Old Testament commandments not to kill one another.

The massacre at Virginia Tech this spring might seem an extreme case. Defenders of gun rights warn against overreaction, claiming that mass shootings, however horrific, are quite rare. In truth, Virginia Tech-style massacres happen every day, albeit in less dramatic form. Statistics show that gun violence kills close to 30,000 people a year in America, or about 80 a day — more than double the number slain in Blacksburg, Va. Is this what one should expect of a country guided by Jesus, the "Prince of Peace"?

Then there is the violence projected by our government. Here, too, it is impossible to claim that America is a peaceful nation in the image of Christ. Under the Bush administration, the United States has pursued an aggressive foreign policy and a war in Iraq that theologians struggle to justify with Christian doctrines about morally defensible war. Certainly, the case can be made that dangerous forces left our government with no choice but to fight. But the question must be raised again: Is our behavior as a nation consistent with our ostensibly Christian character?

'Do unto others'

Although debates have raged for centuries over the essential meaning of Christianity and other religions, few would argue against the central importance of the Golden Rule. This is not merely the bias of a liberal writer. Asked by CNN recently to define Christianity, Richard Land, leader of the theologically conservative Southern Baptist movement, said, "It means to do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

How as a society are we living up to this religious imperative? We could do better. There is something deeply irreligious about the growing gap between our wealthiest and poorest citizens.

Surely, conservative-minded believers will respond that charity and philanthropy flourish today, that Christian compassion is best expressed through means other than government. They're partly right. Americans, religious and secular alike, have reached out impressively to Gulf Coast flood victims. We have donated billions of dollars to charities, churches and educational institutions. Americans shovel snow from neighbors' driveways, volunteer at soup kitchens and shell out for more expensive energy-saving light bulbs to curb our impact on global warming. On the national policy level, President Bush has on occasion lived up to his creed of "compassionate conservatism," especially with his efforts to combat AIDS and poverty in Africa.

But stories of individual big-heartedness cannot forgive a general direction in our politics that leaves shocking numbers of children without health insurance and decent educations.

The Bible has been playing a prominent role in the intensifying debate over immigration. Until very recently, the most outwardly religious people took what can be argued is the irreligious stance. According to 2006 polling data, white evangelicals — a group characterized by its taking the Bible very seriously — favored a more conservative (read: inhospitable) policy toward immigrants than other U.S. citizens. This, in spite of numerous passages in the Bible that emphasize hospitality to strangers and compassion for all God's people.

Compassion and faith

As is happening on this and other issues, the myth of the evangelical monolith is being exposed. More evangelicals are publicly embracing care for the earth and service to the poor, broadening an agenda that seemed stuck on hot-button social issues. And groups from across the Christian spectrum have been speaking up for immigrants. May these compassionate stands of religious America become ever more the norm.

For now, we have what we have: A society of decent individuals who usually do the right thing — but a culture nonetheless marred by violence, greed and politics that often display a hard-heartedness unbecoming a country like ours. We may disagree about the manifestations of our social morality deficit — conservatives will emphasize abortion and sexual immorality; liberals, economic injustice — but we can surely agree that we're capable of something finer.

Given that many social ills have grown worse during a time of Christian revival in the public arena, it's tempting to blame religion. Tempting, and also wrong. It's increasingly obvious that those who led us to our current state have heeded political ambition and expediency — citing faith when it's helpful, jettisoning it when it's inconvenient.

And on goes the pointless argument about whether America is a "Christian nation." Whether this country is Christian depends entirely on how we define the terms, of course. Our Constitution: secular. Our history and culture: religious.

And what do we mean by "religious"? If we're talking about rhetoric, volume and public display, it has been a very religious time indeed. If we mean behavior that creates peace, extends compassion to the less fortunate and reaches out to strangers outside our borders, we have a way to go. If we are a Christian nation, shouldn't we more consistently behave like one?

Tom Krattenmaker, who lives in Portland, Ore., specializes in religion in public life and is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.

Labels: Bible, charity, Christian, compassion, faith, God, Golden Rule, government, Jesus, piety, politics, religion, Unites States, violence

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Dalai Lama: Feeling Of Peace

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 20:47
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

The Honolulu Advertiser WAILUKU, Maui —

Even before the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso appeared on stage yesterday at War Memorial Stadium, his message of peace and compassion permeated through the crowd, estimated at more than 10,000."You get that vibe that everyone's together," said Mike Serro, 27, of Brooklyn, N.Y., as he wandered around the booths selling food and Tibetan crafts with Jen Bino, 25, of Toronto.

"I'm just thinking how lucky I am that he's here right now. It's amazing," Bino said about the Dalai Lama's first visit to Maui.

Wailuku resident Tina Del Dotto said she's not a Buddhist and never studied Buddhism, but felt a need to experience the occasion. "If there was going to be an opportunity to be with people of Maui who have a heart of peace and kindness in this world of turmoil, I want to feel that Maui energy and the peace," said Del Dotto, 55.

The 71-year-old spiritual leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner and author of the best-selling "The Art of Happiness" fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese communist rule in Tibet. He continues to negotiate with the Chinese government over maintaining some degree of self-rule and cultural autonomy for Tibet.

A group of kumu hula from four islands yesterday welcomed the Dalai Lama with a series of oli and lei offerings, followed by a performance by Halau Hula Wehiwehi O Leilehua. The guest of honor noted with a chuckle that the women's Hawaiian garb resembled the robes worn by Buddhist nuns.

He was quick to laugh throughout his hour-plus talk, titled "The Human Approach to World Peace," enchanting the crowd with his humor and humble demeanor.

The Dalai Lama said religion may not be essential to a happy life, but that respect for basic human values is.

Many people consider love and compassion as a religious matter and not important in daily life, the Tibetan leader said. "That's totally wrong, he said." In fact, in a busy world, love and compassion are even more critical than ever, he said.

Just as we choose the right foods that are good for our bodies, we should make proper choices from our "supermarket of emotions" for the good of our mental health, he said, avoiding hatred, jealousy, envy and anger.

Labels: Buddhism, Christie Wilson, compassion, Dalai Lama, love, values