Today was a day of cleaning and organizing boxes that have set on shelves in my basement for years. I so love exploring these treasures as I am often surprised by what I find. Today, I found a treasure that I am going to share. 21 years ago I had the honor of seeing the Dalai Lama at the Kohl Center. We all have highlights in our lives, and for me, this was one of them.
I remember the crowd was so energized waiting for him to arrive. And, then, when he did, there was an eerie sense of quiet, as if a very special person had arrived. I had goosebumps just sitting in my seat waiting for him to enter the stage. He is a very humble man, bowing to those he met, placing a white scarf around their necks and holding their hands. I knew that his energy was spreading throughout the audience. The title of his talk was, “The Buddhist Sense of Love and Compassion.”
As I close my eyes I can still see the stage and feel the energy. The Dalai Lama's voice was very soft and he had a continuous smile on his face. My body began to calm and I too found myself smiling. With my pencil and paper in hand I sat mesmerized by his presence. His message was one of love and compassion. A message, that to him, "is very prominent in every religion." In his view, and taught in Buddhism, LOVE is that which is aspired for; and that aspiration brings happiness. Through our time together he brought out the importance of developing Compassion for ourselves and for one another. In his view, Compassion, this sense of caring, creates a sense of closeness, a sense of respect. He continued by telling us that our attitudes may change and our levels of compassion may change; but our sense of compassion is always there. We can even develop compassion toward one's enemy, called "unbiased compassion."
The Dalai Lama told us that there are"prime forces" that may create our inability to be compassionate. Forces such as: anger, hatred, greed, and jealousy. But, on the other hand, throughout history; even in tragedies, caused by one of these forces, one can find compassion. Motivation is the prime mover. I had to stop and absorb this thought. I could see it being played out in the news, in the media, and at the school I was teaching at. We have all experienced tragedies in our lives, from a variety of players and through all of this, the Dalai Lama expresses, "one's mental state must remain calm." Yes, as a teacher of teenagers I saw this everyday. We often had to deal with situations that made us so frustrated; but to take a breath and pause can give us time to calm.
"I, Me, Myself," are to him negative nouns as they focus on the ego and not the broader world. Do these negative emotions (anger, hatred, greed, and jealousy) bring harm, not only to others but also to ourselves. What role does the ego play in these negative emotions? So many questions arose and again I had to pause and ponder. He stated, and I agreed that we need to analyze these emotions and the role they play to find out what if anything is beneficial and increase that; and what is harmful and reduce that. Anger, though, motivated by compassion is okay. But, negative emotion is not. Analyze each of these negative emotions through this same process: analyze why, which are harmful and which are helpful. What is the value of each emotion. He ended by stating that, "by making a clear distinction between negative emotions it will help one look at their problems."
The University of Madison sponsored the Dalai Lama's visit. One of the conversations focused on our educational system. I very much agree with his view on our system, he stated quite clearly, "we are not paying enough attention to the development of compassion as we do to the development of the brain. We need to demonstrate a sense of caring and compassion as educators so that our students can demonstrate that sense on themselves and others."
As I look back at my notes and my teaching career working to get the students I taught to think beyond themselves was, at times, very challenging. But, I believed learning how to care, was vital to each students life. I have always gravitated towards the philosophy of Buddhism because of its ideals of compassion, love and contentment. Lastly, my notes tell me the Dalai Lama spoke about our, "sacred responsibility." He gave us four points to think about and our role in each: 1. think about the deterioration of our society, 2. think about the arms trade, the possible elimination of nuclear weapons, 3. the gap between the rich and poor nations, and lastly 4. human population and the idea of family planning through non-violent ways." Interesting that these sacred responsibilities were made in 1998 and they are still in the forefront today in 2019. He ended with a vision for all of us, "adopt a more contented lifestyle, prepare early for the future, allow international relations to become more integrated, and work to have a government which represents the people's humanity." Before he brought his hands to his heart and bowed in Namaste he gave us all a challenge: "do not lose our determination. All of us have equal potential no matter our faith."
I am so glad that I dug through my treasures today and found my torn ticket and notes. I loved his visit and all that he spoke, but, I am so saddened that this most beautiful person's message spoken 21 years ago is still ringing true today.
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