Tag Archives: inspiration

Lunch with the Dalai Lama

One of the many perks of attending grad school has been taking part in once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to expand my horizons… isn’t that one of the greatest goals of continued education? Well, it is my goal.

Growing up, this poster hung in my basement:

I remember staring at it thinking, “Is that what it is really all about?” Even at a young age, I had my doubts. Sure, it would be nice to have all that, but will that make me happy?

On April 26th, Loyola University of Chicago partnered with the Tibet Center of Chicago to bring His Holiness, The XIV Dalai Lama, to Chicago and honor him for exemplifying Loyola’s ideals and traditions through the awarding of an honorary degree. Over lunch, he was awarded this honor and gave a speech on interfaith collaboration.

It was during this speech that I thought again about this poster. Sure, “more stuff” can be a justification for education, I guess that looks best on a motivational poster. I think the Dalai Lama would agree that there are much grander goals to be achieved through higher education, and life in general.

Below are some of the most poignant pieces of wisdom he shared with us that day, along with some of my own thoughts (I have included Loyola’s recording of the talk below, which starts around the 16:50 minute mark – watch some of it, he is a very adorable man)

1. Happiness comes from Affection.

Happiness primarily comes from yourself. The emotions you feel and express to others is ultimately a form of control you exercise everyday. We all have issues in our lives, challenges we face, obstacles we must navigate past during our relatively short lives – the one thing we can control through it all is our attitude and how we treat others around us. This ultimately means that happiness is a choice you make day in and day out.

We all want a happy life. Everyone has the right to achieve that happy life. The ultimate source of happiness is not money, a big house or fancy car or just the collection of mere great knowledge (just think of all the miserable millionaires you read about), but rather the ultimate source of joyfulness comes from within. Self-confidence leads to true happiness and this is fed by affection.

Photo from blogs.luc.edu

All life starts and flows from affection. At the end of your life, at your death-bed, you will not have money in your pockets, fame won’t matter, power can’t stop you from dying. At that time, surrounded by your best friends, only those around you, those who you love and love you in return, will matter.

The concern you have for others’ well being, this affection you have for people around you, is the ultimate source of self-confidence, psychological health and positive emotions. Irrespective of your religious beliefs, inner peace comes from genuine affection and love for others.

2. God’s Message

It is necessary to know that religions have different views and philosophies that result in the same goal. One religion in the world will never be, but this is not a problem, rather, have respect for all religions, believers and non-believers. Under God’s law everyone is equal. Under man’s law, the gaps appears huge. God’s message in all religions is love.

Atheism is not anti-God, the word itself comes from Greek ἄθεος (atheos) meaning “absence of God”. Those who say “ethics must be based on religious faith” should remember secularism is not necessarily negative, it was established on respect. In India, and the United States, the countries had multiple faiths, so secularism was established to respect all religions, believers and non-believers instead of putting preference on one religion over another. You can have secular ethics and have a good and moral society.

Some religions have a creator, like Judaism and Catholicism, some do not, such as in Buddhism, which primarily teaches to reduce the self. All self-centered tendencies are removed from the equation in all of these religions, despite the apparent differences between them. All the worlds’ religions have the same aim but different approaches. All teach humility, love and kindness. A person who sincerely follows Islam tradition (1:01:41 in on video), loves Allah and loves His creations. He should not create bloodshed, someone who does so is no longer an Islam practitioner. Jihad really means to combat your own negative nature and raw emotions. To practice Islam, like the other religions, is to love and have affection for others. To understand these things you can develop respect for all religions without any contradictions.

To me, this means that we should not judge people based on their theologies, but only from their behavior. It really doesn’t matter what YOU believe, or I believe, there are people with beautiful theologies but despicable behavior and beautiful people with weird theologies. Not everything you or I think is totally rational (as much as we would like to think we’re totally rational beings), I mean, can you name one religion that is 100% rational!? Even Atheism seems a little weird when it is said “all of this existence came from nothing.”

Buddhism, the Dalai Lama’s faith, asks many questions. Skepticism brings question, which brings investigation, which brings answers. Without skepticism, no questions, no answers. The Buddhist approach is very much in line with the scientific way. This does not lead to contradictions, only truth.

We must make an effort to understand each other, especially those with beliefs which appear different from our own. Not doing so is what causes all the problems. Practice love for each other through education, which leads to tolerance and understanding people with different backgrounds. Logically, we must accept that there are different religious institutions and promote unity among them.

3. Spreading Genuine Peace

To spread peace means simply to create inner peace within yourself first, then share it with others. Peace is not achieved through prayer, only through action and effort. We all must educate others on genuine peace, it must come through inner peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence.

Billboard run by the Foundation for a Better Life. http://www.values.com

4. The Greatest Challenge Facing All of Us

When asked the question: “What is the greatest challenge, as a spiritual leader, you face in your own life?”

He answered: “My own negative emotions”.

Even the greatest men and women on this planet have to fight away anger, jealousy, and selfishness. Only through our ability to control these feelings can the world truly become a better place.

The Rocking Chair

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” ~ William Wallace

Someday, God willing, I’ll grow old.

I wonder what I’ll remember most… What will be something(s) I accomplished that I’ll be proud of? What kind of lasting impact was made on others as a result of my mere existence?

When I retire, sitting in this rocking chair looking out at the beauty of the world, will my reflections of the life passed leave a smile on my face? Will my time on this planet have been lived to its fullest? Will I have loved life (because, after all, what else is there)?

For consideration: http://www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html

These rocking chairs are a reminder that life is but a fleeting moment in time. It is worth turning off the TV and the computer and doing something worth remembering.

Go forth and live today with tomorrow in mind.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Killing Fields

Although I was still nursing my cold, I knew by the afternoon I would have to press on and join the rest of the group when they visited one of the Killing Field memorials. I had already missed a full day of activities, I surely was not going to miss learning about this.

Killing Field Skulls

To understand the horrors which took place in Cambodia during “year zero” would take the breadth of a novel to explain. The true evil behind the communist and totalitarian Khmer Rouge reign is astounding. The dreadful reality that many in Cambodia had to go through is terrible, yet they always seem to be smiling. I really take pause and thank my lucky stars for the good, safe life I’ve lived.

Here is a quick run-through of the chronology of events similar to what our guide described to us. The event details below are largely pulled from and can be found in greater detail at the BBC News website.

1965: Prince Norodom Sihanouk breaks off relations with the US and allows North Vietnamese guerrillas to set up bases in Cambodia in pursuance of their campaign against the government in South Vietnam.

1969 - The US begins a secret bombing campaign against North Vietnamese forces on Cambodian soil.

1970 - Sihanouk is deposed in a coup while abroad. The prime minister, General Lon Nol, assumes power. He proclaims the Khmer Republic and sends the army to fight the North Vietnamese in Cambodia. Sihanouk – in exile in China – forms a guerrilla movement.

Early 1970s - Cambodian army faces two enemies: the North Vietnamese and communist Khmer Rouge guerrillas. Gradually, the army loses territory.

Cambodia Year Zero: 1975 - Lon Nol is overthrown as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot occupy Phnom Penh. Pol Pot has been described as ”the Hitler of Cambodia” and “a genocidal tyrant.”

Bunthin explains the history of the Killing Fields

All urban dwellers are forcibly relocated to the countryside to become agricultural workers. Money becomes worthless, basic freedoms are curtailed and religion is banned. The Khmer Rouge coin the phrase “Year Zero”.

Over the next  4 years, hundreds of thousands of the educated middle-classes are tortured and executed in special centers. Others starve, or die from disease or exhaustion. If you had glasses, you were killed. If you were a professional  or had an ethnic background not accepted by the Khmer Rouge, you were killed. The forms of torture were vast, including pulling out of nails or teeth everyday to get confessions out of those suspected to be connected to the former government. The government knew that if people know what’s happening, if they’re educated, they will fight back, which is why they preemptively killed anyone who could do more than farm work. Many bodies were thrown in mass graves, now called the Killing Fields. The total death toll during the next four years is estimated at about 2 million.

1976 - The country is re-named Democratic Kampuchea. Sihanouk resigns, Khieu Samphan becomes head of state, Pol Pot is prime minister. 1977 - Fighting breaks out with Vietnam and the following year, Vietnamese forces invade in a lightning assault.

January 7, 1979  - The Vietnamese take Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge forces flee to the border region with Thailand. The

Killing Field bones

People’s Republic of Kampuchea is established. Many elements of life before the Khmer Rouge take-over are re-established. People celebrate!

Bunthin described for the group in excruciating detail his own story while I was nursing my cold in bed. I asked for him to repeat it to me on the bus after we left the killing fields, to which he agreed. In 1967-69, his father was one of the soldiers supported by the U.S. to fight against North Vietnam (I thought “My God, his dad could have fought alongside my own!”).  When Bunthin was only 6, he and his brother watched as the Khmer Rouge murdered his parents. They went into the jungle where they hid to escape capture by the Khmer Rouge government. In the coming years, they would feed on bananas, bugs, frogs, and, at times, dirt to survive. Neighbors searched for them to help them hide. Bunthin joined the guerilla forces to fight, while his brother ended up in the Army for the Khmer Rouge. At times, they were literally fighting each other. In 1982, Bunthin and his troop were offered the chance to get an education, only he and one other in his group decided to go, so he left the country and joined an Army education camp for 3 years. There he learned to speak English, which would be a key to his future. In 1993 he worked as a UN Peacekeeper for a year.

Later down the road he was over heard speaking English and offered a career as a tour guide. At the time, he didn’t even know what that was, but after some observation he realized he could do the job well, so he studied up on the Angkor Temples and has been a tour guide ever since.

“Peace is a good choice,” Bunthin said to us. Buddhism, practiced by 95% of Cambodia’s population, teaches tolerance. There is an in-between to issues most people in the country practice. Despite this, the corrupt government in the country still maintains and desires a great deal of control over the people.

This place was religious pagoda turned into Killing Fields Memorial

About 40% of the government today is still Khmer Rouge. Ever since Pol Pot died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge remnants in power blame everything solely on him. Anyone who disputes this openly has a way of disappearing. The king wanted to cremate and destroy the skulls and evidence of this event, but the UN interjected – We never want to have this happen again!

The people of Cambodia are really quite amazing considering what life has handed to them. Bunthin has a incredible level of optimism about his country, which is actually very inspiring. People in America take a great deal for granted and complain about the most minute details when life for us really is wonderful. There are so many who will never have all we do. :(

There is still much this country needs, arguably the most important is better education for the children, the future of Cambodia.

Monks bathing behind the memorial