The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is the only living religious and political leader whom I wholeheartedly admire and respect. Many books have been written about him, which reveal his wisdom and compassion, as well as his unique humbleness and greatness. Many Buddhists consider him a living Buddha, but he insists that he in only "a simple Buddhist monk." (Johnson, p. 225)

"I'm nothing special. I'm just another human being, just like you. When you listen to my talk, just listen to another human being....If the audience considers the Dalai Lama very special, then my talk is useless." (Johnson, p. 230)
(His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Ethics for Our Time" lecture,University of California, Santa Barbara, April 24, 2009)

He says he has three commitments in life. His first commitment as a human being is the promotion of human values and those spiritual qualities which are fundamental to a happy life for the individual, the family, and the community. His second commitment as a Buddhist monk is the promotion of harmony among different religions. Despite different concepts and philosophies, all chief religious traditions bring us the same message of love, compassion, tolerance, temperance, and self-discipline. They also have in common their potential to help us lead a happy life. His third commitment as the Dalai Lama is Tibet, the well-being of the Tibetan people in their struggle for justice. He considers himself their free spokesperson in exile. (Stril-Rever, pp. 1-2)

The Dalai Lama's day begins at 3:00-3:30am whether he is on the road or at his residence in Dharamsala. As soon as he arises, he pays homage to the Buddha, and begins his morning prayers and meditation. He also does some exercise. In Dharamsala, especially during the rainy season, he may exercise indoors on a treadmill. Otherwise, he will walk outdoors. By dawn or around 5:00 am the Dalai Lama sits down to a hearty breakfast, usually bread, jam, fruit, and tea. After that he usually reads the paper, or goes to meetings. If there is no meeting, he reads Buddhist scriptures and books. The he practices analytic meditation on altruism (bodhicitta or enlightenment mind). He also meditates on emptiness. Bodhicitta and emptiness are the most important meditations in his daily practice. They help him throughout the day to stabilize his mind and support it from within. He has lunch around noon. At 12:30 or 1:30pm, he goes to his office and remains there for other meetings. After 4pm he returns to his personal residence. At 5:00pm he has evening tea. As a Buddhist monk he does not have dinner. He spends the rest of the evening saying prayers or meditation. Before going to sleep at 8pm, he examines what he did during the day. (Stril-Rever, pp.35-36; Johnson, p. 232)

When traveling, he commonly flies on commercial airlines, economy or business class rather than first class. "First class too much luxury. Too much drink. I'm a Buddhist monk," he said in Berkeley (April 25, 2009). He takes little with him, a small crimson bag is almost always slung on his shoulder. He does not use a computer or a mobile phone. His aids opened a Twitter account for him, and maintain his official website. (Johnson, p. 233)

Speaking to a group of ethnic Chinese at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, May 4, 2009, the Dalai Lama said, "If I go back to China, I'll probably be handcuffed right at the airport." Such meetings have not always gone smoothly.
(Johnson, p.225)
Exile has forced on the Dalai Lama vast exposure to the modern world. In North America and Europe, his talks draw enormous crowds. The Dalai Lama is committed to non violence as a tool for change and espouses social equality as a necessary step toward genuine social harmony and peace. His battle to win greater freedom for Tibetans under China's yoke has given the Dalai Lama a distinct political hue. Like Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama is a strong critic of authoritarian one-party government. (Johnson, p. 227)

For all his fame, the Dalai Lama remains modest and humble, exhibiting consideration and caring. Tibetans consider him an emanation of the Buddha of Compassion. Those who have observed him for decades say the Dalai Lama gives equal treatment to nearly everyone. Pico Iyer, a British-born essayist and novelist, wrote that when the Dalai Lama goes to the White House, he shakes hands with writers and bodyguards as well as the American President. Matthieu Ricard, a French monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, said, "How often have I seen him, just after having bid goodbye to a president or a minister, go and shake hands with the doorman in his box, or with the telephone operator behind her glass window." (Johnson, pp.228-229)

The Dalai Lama routinely travels with a delegation of half a dozen people comprising of a translator, two attendants, a personal secretary, and two or three bodyguards. Most countries where he visits provide additional security. In the USA, the State Department gives him the protection accorded to a top-level visiting foreign dignitary. Once in Cambridge, Massachusetts, security aids to the Dalai Lama were alert to small protests from mainland Chinese students, but none turned out at the Memorial Church. It is easy to understand why. Some of the leading academic lights of Harvard arrived for his talk, giving him the imprimatur of the most prestigious university in America. No mainland Chinese student dared to go against the collective view of major Harvard dons. (Johnson, p. 233)

The Dalai Lama spends at least five and a half hours a day praying, meditating, or studying. He says he also prays during all the idle moments throughout the day, during meals or while traveling. As a Buddhist monk, he sees no differences between religious practice and daily life. In fact, religious practice is a 24/7 occupation. There are prayers for every activity, from walking up to bathing, eating, and sleeping. For tantric practitioners, exercises performed during deep sleep and dreaming are some of the most important, since they prepare them for dying.

The Dalai Lama's meditation focuses on emptiness and interdependence on the subtlest level. He uses different mandalas, visualizing himself as a series of deities (a practice called "deity yoga"). His mind then is on a level beyond sensory awareness, but it remains lucid in a pure awareness, not in a trance. Neither language nor everyday experience can translate or describe the experience of pure awareness.

One important aspect of his daily practice is about death. About this subject, the Dalai Lama says there are two things you can do in life: either you choose to ignore it, or you choose to confront and analyze it, so as to diminish the suffering it may cause. As a Buddhist, he accepts death as a normal process of life, a reality that will occur in samsara. He does not worry about it, but thinks it is like leaving behind used old clothing. Death is not an end in itself. As a Buddhist, the experience of death is essential, for at the moment when one dies, the most profound and beneficial experiences can manifest. For this reason, there are many great spiritual masters who take leave of earthly existence during their meditation. When that occurs, their bodies don't decompose until long after clinical death. (Stril-Rever, pp. 77-78)

The Dalai Lama often speaks of the promotion of human secular values and religious harmony as two of his commitments in life. He said, " Compassion, what I sometimes also call human affection, is the determining factor of our life." (Stril-Rever, p. 10).
True compassion does not stem from the pleasure of feeling close to one person or another, but from the conviction that other people are just like me, who want to be happy, and from the commitment to help them overcome what causes them to suffer. True compassion extends to enemies, too. It bears with it a feeling of responsibility for the welfare and happiness of others. In human relations it contributes to the promotion of peace and harmony. (Stril-Rever, p. 20)
At Harvard he said, "Differences of race, differences of color, differences of religions, differences of age --but fundamentally no differences. Mentally, emotionally, psychologically, we are the same." (Johnson, pp. 233-234)


Sources:
http://www.dalailama.com/

http://www.dalailama.com/messages/acceptance-speeches/nobel-peace-prize

Tim Johnson, How the Dalai Lama Conquered the World but Lost the Battle with China. Tragedy in Crimson. (New York, NY: Nation Books, 2011)

The Dalai Lama: My Spiritual Journey. Collected by Sofia Stril-Rever and translated by Charlotte Mandell. (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2010).

Iyer, Pico. The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (2008) Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0307267603

Ron Gluckman.(February-March 1996)
http://www.gluckman.com/DalaiLama.html