My experience of seeing H.H. Dalai Lama live began as soon as I arrived at TD Garden. Outside of the Garden there were Shugden practitioners chanting "False Dalai Lama, Stop Lying." These protesters gave me literature claiming that the Dalai Lama is the worst dictator in this modern day. Apparently no one is immune to religious protest. There will be more on these protesters in a later post.
TD Garden did not handle this event well. There were not enough employees or officers to guide people to the correct line(s) and the microphones were not properly adjusted in certain sections. (TD Garden has apologized for the audio and they have made it available here, and a word for word transcript is available in a previous post).
The people who came to see the Dalai Lama were quite diverse. While waiting in line or walking to the Garden, there were Catholic priests, Tibetan monks, Indians, Americans, and many others. To say that the Dalai Lama has a broad appeal is an understatement. This, however, is not surprising given his amiable nature.
The Dalai Lama was not as fluent in English as I expected. Though, he came across as thoughtful and wise. This particular talk, aimed at the general audience, was not as philosophically dense as some of this other talks. Which you can find more about at www.dalailama.com.
The H.H. Dalai Lama seemed like a genuine humble person. His laughter was so infectious that even if you didn't understand his words you were compelled to laugh. At one point he donned a Boston Bruins cap and joked that he did not know what hockey was and compared it to cricket.
Much of the content of this particular talk was also covered in his book Beyond Religion, which you can read about here. H.H. Dalai Lama spoke on educating the heart and mind. He taught that developing compassion towards everyone is possible and necessary. It's possible by realizing that we are one of 7 billion people on the planet that all want a happy life, a life without suffering, and to expand this compassion out from ourselves to the entire population of the world. We can do all of this through common sense and scientific research focusing on how to instill values, especially compassion, in people.
The main part of his speech addressed the topic of what is a happy life. A happy life is one which is free from suffering. But freedom from physical suffering is not key, its freedom from mental suffering. Mental suffering can be avoided by having mental calmness. By looking at our biological nature we can help induce mental calmness. Biologically we are equipped to need love and compassion. Developing love and compassion for ourselves and others is necessary for mental calmness. It is this interdependent nature of humanity that is our defining feature, and it is these aspects of our humanity that can help subdue mental suffering.
He also further explained his idea of religious tolerance. He advocated for India's conception of 'secular' as respect for all religions. He further argued that only Westerners who are devoted to learning about and converting to Tibetan Buddhism should do so. Otherwise, Westerners should stay in the traditions that are rooted in their culture. Likewise, Christians and other Western traditions should not attempt to convert those in the East; this tends to create unnecessary confusion. For instance, he gave an example of a woman who stated that after receiving help from Christian missionaries said that she would be Christian in this life and Buddhist in the next. Thus, in addition to viewing religion as being centrally concerned about happiness, well-being, and ethics, religion for the Dalai Lama is tied to a particular culture in such a way that you cannot safely and quickly export religious ideas into a population that has a longstanding history of other traditions. This conception of religion is quite helpful and should be reflected on in great detail. Westerners often think that the western world has knowledge independent of culture. Specifically, many Westerners think that Christianity isn't primarily a Western tradition that has been exported to other countries and cultures. Of course the Dalai Lama does not seem to realize or fully acknowledge the stakes from a Christian perspective. From most Christian perspectives, especially those who send missionaries, non-Christians will receive eternal torment for their sins and thus conversion to Christianity is going to be the primary goal.
After his talk, his interpreter asked pre-chosen questions. In answering these questions the Dalai Lama emphasized his humanity, not his spiritual authority in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. When he was asked if he had a pet, he jokingly said that he had an old cat that was no longer playful, much like himself. He was also asked if he ever got angry, and immediately responded with 'oh Yes!' He also spoke at length about his wish that Tibet be granted a great deal of sovereignty, but not be completely independent from China.
The bottom line is that I would recommend seeing one of the Dalai Lama's talks intended for the general audience. To hear his laugh in person is a sufficient reason to attend one of his talks. Though to save some money make sure you pay attention to his scheduled talks and get the tickets as soon as possible. The content of his talks aimed at the general audience won't be new; but to hear a revered, amiable, and wise man talk about ethics is priceless.
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