Wishtank
Love is supreme: An excerpt from the Dalai Lama
by: Editor and Tenzin Gyatso
A few years ago I picked up a book that changed my angle on life for good — i.e. for the better, as well as forever. The book was called An Open Heart: Practicing compassion in everyday life and was written by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th and present Dalai Lama. This was my introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and its embrace of the concept of compassion. I word it like that because this school really holds compassion as the primary motivator in the minds of the students who practice it.
In my American experience, compassion among humans is viewed as a commodity — given special recognition when it occasionally surfaces in our behavior. A child sees that another is sad and goes out of his way to try and cheer him up. A parent or teacher recognizes this and praises the kid for the “extraordinary” act that he has shown. The point here is subtle — there is nothing wrong with rewarding quality behavior in order to encourage more, but the fact that such an act is “extraordinary” demonstrates the difference between the compassion I understood before reading Buddhist teachings, and the compassion I understood afterward. In Buddhist thought, compassion is a guiding principle in leading a moral life, not an opt-in policy to be toggled on or off depending on our attitude toward a given situation.
While I do not consider myself a Buddhist, this one concept has helped me arrange my thinking and to live a more meaningful life. In fact, it led me to another book of the Dalai Lama’s, about a year later. I found it in the city of Burlington (Vermont) the day after a long session of drinking with my tribe from the Northeast Kingdom. The toxins in my body were causing an overwhelming degree of anxiety in my mind, and no matter how much I wandered around the city and by the waterfront, I just couldn’t shake the negative feelings. I didn’t feel good, I didn’t know where I wanted to be in the world, or what I ought to be doing.
What I realize now is that I was seeking a method to get my mind in tune — healthy and capable of making graceful decisions. Maybe it was the title that drew my attention to this book — How To Practice: The way to a meaningful life. Or maybe it was the goofy grin on His Holiness’s face. Either way, I bought the book, brought it to Dobra Tea House, and found enough peace within its pages to get me through the rest of the year.
I recently recommended this book to a friend who was facing similar anxiety, and was pleased to find that it provided her with comfort. She seems happier and the impact of reading these words is evident in her spirit. Thinking about this the other day, I decided to pick up the book again, and reading it has rekindled a sense of optimism in me as well. I wanted to share some of this with you, so I typed up a couple of segments from the book’s introduction below. While Gyatso doesn’t know we’re running his words on our pages, we would like to thank him for verbalizing these ideas — every foreign policy official on the planet would be wise to read this and learn from his wisdom. These words are as close to perfect as anything I’ve ever read, and we hope they inspire you to look more closely at the Dalai Lama’s work.
humbly.
Garrett from Wishtank
:: Interdependence ::
Much of the world is now connected by a web of electronic communication and instant information. In the twenty-first century our global economy has made nations and their people heavily dependent upon one another. In ancient times, trade between nations was not necessary. Today, it is impossible to remain isolated, so if nations do not have mutual respect, problems are bound to arise. Although there are grave signs of trouble between poorer and richer nations, these economic rifts can be healed by a stronger sense of global interdependence and responsibility. The people of one nation must consider the people of other nations to be like brothers and sisters who deserve progress for their homelands.
Despite the best efforts of world leaders, crises keep erupting. Wars kill innocent people; the elderly and our children die continuously, endlessly. Many soldiers who are fighting are not there by their own initiative; real suffering is experienced by these innocent soldiers, which is very sad. The sale of weapons — thousands and thousands of types of arms and ammunition — by manufacturers in big countries fuels the violence, but more dangerous than guns or bombs are hatred, lack of compassion, and lack of respect for the rights of others. As long as hatred dwells in the human mind, real peace is impossible.
We must do everything we can to stop war, and to rid the world of nuclear weapons. When I visited Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped, when I saw the actual spot and heard the stories of survivors, my heart was deeply moved. How many people died in a single moment! How many more were injured! How much pain and desolation nuclear war creates! Yet look at how much money is spent on weapons of mass destruction. It is shocking, an immeasurable disgrace.
Love is supreme.
Advancements in science and technology have greatly benefited humankind, but not without a price. While we enjoy the development of jet airplanes, for example, which make it possible to easily travel the world, enormously destructive weapons have also been created. No matter how beautiful or remote their homelands, many people live in a constant fear or a very real threat: thousands upon thousands of nuclear warheads poised for attack. But the button must be pushed by someone, and thus human intention is ultimately responsible.
The only way to achieve lasting peace is through mutual trust, respect, love, and kindness. The only way. Attempts by global powers to dominate one another through competition in armaments — whether nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional — is counterproductive. How can a world full of hatred and anger achieve real peace? External peace is impossible without inner peace. It is noble to work at external solutions, but they cannot be successfully implemented so long as people have hatred and anger in their minds. This is where profound change has to begin. Individually we have to work to change the basic perspectives on which our feelings depend. We can only do so through training, by engage in in practice with the aim of gradually reorienting the way we perceive ourselves and others.
The desperate state of our world calls us to action. Each of us has a responsibility to try to help at the deeper level of our common humanity. Unfortunately, humanity is too often sacrificed in defense of ideology. This is absolutely wrong. Political systems should actually benefit human beings, but, like money, they can control us instead of work for us. If with a warm heart and patience we can consider the views of others, and exchange ideas in calm discussion, we will find points of agreement. It is our responsibility — out of love and compassion for humankind — to seek harmony among other nations, ideologies, cultures, ethnic groups, and economic and political systems. When we truly recognize the oneness of all humankind, our motivation to find peace will grow stronger. In the deepest sense we are really sisters and brothers, so we must share one another’s suffering. Mutual respect, trust, and concern for one another’s welfare are our best hope for lasting world peace.
Of course, national leaders have a special responsibility in this area, but every individual must also take the initiative, regardless of religious belief. Just by being human, by seeking to gain happiness and avoid suffering, you are a citizen of this planet. We all are responsible for creating a better future.
To achieve a friendly attitude, a warm heart, respect for the rights of others, and concern for their welfare you must train the mind… The essential objective of daily practice is to cultivate an attitude of compassion and calm — a state of mind particularly crucial in human society today for its power to yield true harmony among nations, races, and people from diverse religious, political, and economic systems.
Creating Harmony
The harmony and friendship that we need in our families, nations, and the world can be achieved only through compassion and kindness. By helping one another, with concern and respect, we can solve many problems easily. Harmony cannot thrive in a climate of mistrust, cheating, bullying and mean-spirited competition. Success through intimidation and violence is temporary at best; its trifling gains only create new problems. This is why just a couple of decades after the enormous human tragedy of the First World War, the Second World War was fought, and millions more people were killed. If we examine our long history of hatred and anger, we see the obvious need to find a better way. We can only solve our problems through truly peaceful means — not just peaceful words but a peaceful mind and heart. In this way we will have a better world.
Is this possible? Fighting, cheating, and bullying have trapped us in our present situation; now we need training in new practices to find a way out. It may seem impractical and idealistic, but we have no alternative to compassion, recognizing human value and the oneness of humanity: This is the only way to achieve lasting happiness.
These books for purchase:
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