Today religion, especially Christianity, is a very delicate topic in social terms. It is ambiguous and raises many questions. The church is its separate link. She takes on the function of a mediator between man and God. But is this so in Buddhism? Isn't the communism that China “professes” a religion?
Dalai Lama XIV, Tenzin Gyamtskho.
Throughout almost the entire existence of our planet, man has been looking for himself, his spiritual origin. With the advent of religion, spiritual mentors began to appear more and more often, who tried to put a person's “soul” in order, to heal it. There are many examples of "teachers": Jesus Christ, Eckhart Tolle, Tik Nat Khan, Deepak Chopra, Paulo Coelho, Elizabeth Gilbert … These names include one of the most significant figures of the 21st century - the Dalai Lama. But what do we know about him? What difficulties does the leader of one of the main religious confessions face?
Over the past six decades, the Dalai Lama has become the most recognizable face of the Buddhist religion. It is practiced by almost 500 million people around the world.
Dalai Lama XIV, Tenzin Gyamtskho is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Buddhists believe that he is the embodiment on the land of Avalokiteshvara (the endless compassion of all Buddhas). They are born here to serve people.
The spiritual leader was born into an ordinary family. Father Choikyon Tsering, mother Sonam Tsomo. Like the other 20 families in the village (including several ethnic Chinese), they were involved in the cultivation of oats, wheat and potatoes. Nine of his siblings died in early childhood. At birth, he received the name Lhamo Thondup (goddess who fulfills wishes. In Tibet, when choosing names, the gender of the baby is not taken into account, so the future Dalai Lama received a female name).
Excerpt from the film by Martin Scorsese * Kundun *.
As time passed, the Dalai Lama became the spiritual mentor of an entire religion. In 1989 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1997, Martin Scorsese directed the biopic Kundun about Delai Lama.
Promotional video:
The Dalai Lama and Richard Gere.
Buddhism spread in the minds of Western people thanks to worshipers. They are found all over the world from Richard Gere to the Beastie Boys and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who calls him "a messenger of hope for millions of people around the world."
However, time is ticking. Other countries are growing and developing, some of which are of great religious importance. The Dalai Lama's influence is waning. Today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which expelled the lama from Tibet, is working to unify Buddhist principles as well as the process of succession itself.
The officially “atheist” party has proven to be as adaptive to religion as it is to capitalism. She claims that the home of faith is the nationalism that Beijing activated under Xi Jinping. In January, the CCP announced that it would “defile” Buddhism over the next five years, completing a multimillion-dollar rebranding of the faith as an ancient Chinese religion.
Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous threat and quickly rebukes any country that comes in contact with him. Every US president since George H. W. Bush met with the Dalai Lama. This continued until Donald Trump began negotiating with China to reform the state-controlled economy.
The main Buddhist remains the detached leader of his people.
The CCP still regards the Dalai Lama as a "wolf in monastic robes." He has rejected calls for Tibet's independence since 1974, recognizing the geopolitical reality that any settlement should keep Tibet in the People's Republic of China. Instead, he advocates greater autonomy, religious and cultural freedom for his people.
The Dalai Lama is faced with difficult religious issues all the time.
Buddhism has its own extremists, in this respect it is similar to other religions. The themes of Buddhism, as a non-ethical religion without a single creator deity, is more accessible to followers of other faiths and even ardent atheists. This is what distinguishes it from other religions. Buddhism emphasizes harmony and purity of the mind. But the Dalai Lama says he is "very sad" about the situation in Myanmar, where fire and Buddhist monks provoked the genocide of Rohingya Muslims. It's hard to realize and accept. This is where the responsibility for the religious interests advanced by the Dalai Lama is manifested. At least 2,100 Christians died due to their religious beliefs in 2013 around the world. Most of them were killed in Syria by radical Islamists. "The main reason for the persecution of Christians in 36 out of 50 countries is radical Islamism,"- write the authors of a study conducted by the Open Doors Society.
Today the Delai Lama is the only one who recognizes the imperfection of religious confessions. It doesn't matter which God to believe in, the main thing is to remain a Human, kind, honest, loving …
Let's go back to China. His resistance is understandable, freedom and sobriety are always puzzling. China is undoubtedly a leading, developing, strong power. But are people free there? What do we know about an essentially closed country? Within which, often, restrictions are stronger than those of religious countries. An example is the USSR.
KARINA BASOK