Long Beach, California, USA, 20 April 2012 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
left San Diego on April 20th morning arriving in Long Beach a little
after 8:00 am to continue with his visit to Southern California. The
Abbot of Gaden Shartse, Jangchup Choeden, and officials of the Gaden
Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling Center, the host of his visit, received him
at the airport.
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Well-wishers greet His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his arrival at his hotel in Long Beach, California, on April 20, 2012.
Photo/Max Roper |
At the hotel, members of the Tibetan community in Southern California as
well as of the GSTDL Center had gathered to receive him. Before a
gathering of the press, the Mayor of Long Beach City, Bob Foster,
welcomed His Holiness and announced that a tree will be planted in Long
Beach in his honor. Then State Senator Lou Correa informed His Holiness
of how he had read many of his books as a young boy and admired his
thoughts. The Senator also presented to His Holiness a plaque of
appreciation as a humble symbol of the people of Orange County, in which
Long Beach is located.
In his remarks to the press, His Holiness said wherever he went he
talked about his two commitments of promoting human values and promoting
religious harmony and understanding. He said at the human level he was
no one special and the same as any other human being. He believed that
man being a social animal; an individual’s interest depends on that of
the rest of the world. He said the basic human nature is that of
compassion, and being gentle. He said there was the need to create
awareness of the fact that the ultimate source of a successful life and a
happy life is within us.
He said his number two commitment related to religion. He said all the
major world religious traditions have different approach, but the
essential message is the same, i.e. the practice of love, tolerance,
contentment, etc. Talking about the service of the religious community
to society, His Holiness said Christians have made the greatest
contribution in the field of education and health. However, only in the
past, even today, religion sometimes causes division.
His Holiness then referred to the situation in India where he said even a
child understands the co-existence of the different religious
traditions there. Talking about respecting other religious traditions,
His Holiness recalled an Australian Christian leader who introduced him
as being a good Christian at a public meeting. His Holiness said he had
in turn called the Reverend a good Buddhist. His Holiness said that he
believed he has been able to make a small contribution in promoting
inter religious harmony.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama present a traditional
ceremonial scarf to Long Beach mayor Bob Foster at a meeting with
members of press in Long Beach, California, on April 20, 2012.
Photo/Getty Image |
His Holiness said previous he had his third commitment concerning Tibet,
but since 2001 after having an elected leadership they took major
decisions and his position became that of being semi retired. He said in
2011 the term of the elected leader ended and elections took place. He
said he observed the active involvement of the Tibetan community in the
process and thought about devolving his political authority so that he
could have complete retirement. Subsequently, on May 29, 2011 he had
signed a legislation handing over the political authority to the elected
leadership. Therefore, in certain matters, he said he was now freer.
His Holiness said the reason he mentioned these issues is because he
felt the media also had a role in creating awareness about them.
Emphasizing that the media had a special role His Holiness repeated his
assertion that the media should have a long nose like an elephant that
can smell not only in the front but also in the back. He said the media
should point out if religious people were acting hypocritically and do
not practice properly. He said the case was similar with politicians,
pointing to the Long Beach Mayor and the State Senator present in the
room.
A journalist asked how should the media maintain a balance when the
people seem to want bad news. His Holiness said while reporting bad news
the media could also highlight the potential of hope. He added that
tragic news could also be an opportunity to introduce care. He felt that
the reason why the Buddha taught suffering as the first of the four
Noble truths was not to demoralize the people. Rather, he said that if
people realize suffering then naturally nobody wants to suffer and so
will look for a remedy.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama gestures in response to
questions during a press meeting in Long Beach, California, on Arpil 20,
2012. Photo/Getty Images |
In response to a question about cultivating a peaceful mind, His
Holiness talked about the connection between the mind and the body. He
said the mental system, like the physical in that if the basic health
condition is weak then even small viruses can affect it. He said
therefore there was the need to build a healthy mental state, in the
form of moral ethics. He said doing this through a religious approach
makes it limited and creates borders. He talked about the age-old
tradition of secularism in India where there is respect for all
religious believers as well as non-believers. He felt this could be
promoted through common experience, by using common sense and looking at
scientific findings. His Holiness said these days scientists are
beginning to feel that emotion is important and that a calm mind was
helpful for good health. His Holiness recalled attending a conference
in San Francisco on youth violence the conclusion of which was that this
came about on account of a lack of affection.
His Holiness talked about incorporating the study of moral ethics in
the education system and said in the next few years we will develop a
plan on how to do this.
The next question was the news from Tibet about yet another two
Tibetans having committing self-immolations and how His Holiness saw the
overall issue of self-immolations in Tibet. His Holiness said that the
development was very sad. The issue is very political. However, he
said soon after the first such incidents he was in Japan and had then
called for the concerned people to do a thorough investigation into the
real cause. He talked about incidents of self-immolation in Vietnam and
China, too, where during the Cultural Revolution an abbot of a
monastery had committed self-immolation when the Red Guards were trying
to destroy the monastery. His Holiness also recalled visiting the site
of a self-immolation by Jan Palach, a student in Czechoslovakia.
His Holiness said there were some who feel that the self-immolations
have occurred all of a sudden. He said it was not so and that it was
directly related to more than two decades of policies by local Chinese
authorities. The tightening of control in monasteries and schools (one
hard lined Chinese Party Secretary banned the teaching of classical
Tibetan text in Tibet University in Lhasa), effort to start political
education in monasteries, etc. made some Tibetans say that there was a
sort of semi Cultural Revolution taking place. He said further
tightening of control and suppression has been the immediate cause of
the 2008 demonstrations in Tibet.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama and members of the press in Long Beach, California, on April 20, 2012. Photo/Max Roper |
His Holiness also said in recent times the Chinese authorities have
called for launching a war against “splittism” and asked if, as the
Chinese claim, it is just “a handful of splittists” why would there be
the need of a war? His Holiness said in the late 1950s there have been a
lot of suffering in Tibet and a Chinese writer was coming out soon with
a new book showing the finding that half a million Tibetans have been
killed or died of torture.
He said Tibetans have our own language and culture, which are the
sources of the Tibetan spirit. He said the Chinese leadership is
targeting that.
His Holiness, however, said fortunately Chinese Prime Minister has
been talking about the need for political reform, repeating the same
during a press conference after this year’s National People’s Congress
session. A few days after Wen’s statement, action was taken against the
hardliner Bo Xilai. His Holiness said may be the open-minded leaders
could be getting the upper hand.
To a question about the possibility of 15th Dalai Lama not being
there, His Holiness joked about being asked this question in Newark. He
joked that at that time he had removed his glasses, looked straight at
the journalist who asked the question asking whether any hurry was
needed by looking at his face. His Holiness mentioned a statement that
he had issued in September 2011 outlining his thoughts on his
reincarnation. He said Tibetan spiritual leaders have been meeting
several times and during some meetings the issue of the Dalai Lama’s
reincarnation has been raised. He said in his statement he had
clarified that when he reaches around 89 or 90 years old he would
convene a meeting of concerned people to decide whether the institution
of the Dalai Lama should continue or not. He said actually he had said
as early as 1969 that if the majority of the people feel that the Dalai
Lama institution was not needed, it could end. He joked that it may not
be a bad idea if the institution stopped when the 14th Dalai Lama is
very popular.
Another journalist asked about North Korea and what His Holiness
would do if he were invited to that country. His Holiness replied that
if some serious and sincere invitation came he would consider that.
Thereafter, His Holiness went to the Long Beach Arena to perform the
preparatory ritual for the Yamantaka Initiations. From there he
addressed a gathering at a luncheon for supporters of the event and
talked about the linguistic ability of Shartse Abbot Jangchup Choeden
who can speak Hindi, English, Chinese, etc. His Holiness also talked
positively about the late Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen, the founder of Gaden
Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling Center, as a good scholar but also “a
little bit naughty.” He said that Geshe Gyeltsen and Geshe Lhundup Sopa
(in Madison) were among the top scholars. His Holiness said he had
initially planned on bestowing the Yamantaka Initiation last year but
had to cancel it after he was indisposed on his way here. Therefore, he
had promised the Abbot that he would bestow it this time. His Holiness
thanked the supporters of the event and joked that he was extending the
thanks for the fund being raised by others.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his teaching at
the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, on April 20, 2012.
Photo/Max Roper |
In the afternoon, His Holiness conducted the Tagon (preliminary
preparatory teachings) of the Yamantaka Empowerment. He gave a
commentary on The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses, Causing the Rain of
Achievements to Fall by the Seventh Dalai Lama.
Speaking about the Yamantaka empowerment His Holiness said he had
received it first from Taktra Rinpoche, one of his tutors, and later
from Ling Rinpoche (also his tutor). However, he had begun Yamantaka
practice when he was quite young, mainly to improve the sharpness of
mind. He added that people who did this practice saw changes within a
short period of time.
His Holiness will bestow the initiations in the morning on April 21,
2012. In the afternoon, he will give a public talk, “Peace in Troubled
Times.”
