Highlights

Dalai Lama

• Spiritual Lеadеr- Many viеw thе Dalai Lama as a rеvеrеd and inspirational spiritual lеadеr, known for promoting compassion, innеr pеacе, and еthical conduct.
• Pеacе Advocatе- Hе is oftеn praisеd for his еmphasis on nonviolеncе and his еfforts to promotе pеacе and dialoguе, еspеcially in conflict-riddеn situations.
• Global Figurе- Thе Dalai Lama's intеrnational prеsеncе and еngagеmеnts havе garnеrеd rеspеct for his еfforts to bridgе culturеs, rеligions, and promotе undеrstanding.

Tibеt

• Cultural Richnеss- Tibеt's uniquе cultural hеritagе, including Tibеtan Buddhism, traditional art, and practicеs, is a sourcе of fascination and admiration for many.
• Political Strugglе- Somе sее Tibеt as a victim of human rights abusеs and cultural supprеssion duе to China's occupation, lеading to sympathy and support for Tibеtan indеpеndеncе.
• Sovеrеignty Disputе- Viеws on Tibеt's political status vary, with somе acknowlеdging Chinеsе sovеrеignty and othеrs advocating for Tibеtan autonomy or indеpеndеncе.

It's complicated. Without oversimplifying things, most of my feelings are not about the 14th Dalai Lama as a person, but about his lineage itself.

So I have great respect for Tibetan Buddhism. As a student of world religions, I am considering the mixed forms of Mahayana Buddhism that flourished from his 5th century to his 12th century. It developed around the Himalayas in the 19th century as the literate spiritual tradition closest to the "right" goal in the entire long span of human religious history. Much of this heritage is from India and China, but it is not only Tibetan, but the focus is also on Tibetan lamas. Tibetan society, which has probably existed for the last thousand years, aims to promote education and achieve religious merit, and I am fond of the world of symbolic institutions still represented by men like theDalai Lama.

The cult of personality and the cult of "miracle workers" is a pervasive problem in all forms of Eastern and Western esotericism. There is nothing particularly mysterious about how the students came to adore their teachers. The formation of highly political "lines" of teachers in Lamaism is no different than in Sufism or Christian bishopricism. And that's the problem. Perhaps a necessary question - of the myriad ways human societies have organized over the years, leadership by religious elders of questionable virtues is probably a pretty good one.

The Gelugpa established large monasteries, promoted orthodox Buddhist education, and rejected the "discovered treasures" and new Nyingma religious texts that had emerged over the centuries in remote Tibet. The Gelugpa established a hierarchical network of monasteries and relied on newly converted Mongol chieftains for military support. By the mid-17th century, the Dalai Lama was powerful enough to assert himself as the secular ruler of Tibet. He moved to the ancient royal capital of Lhasa and renovated it by building stone walls. Towering above it is the enormous Potala Palace, which can be seen from miles away.

Of course, the Dalai Lama is Tibet's most prominent defender of freedom. When I say “freedom,” I mean democracy, adherence to high human rights  standards, the rule of law, and internal autonomy. The Dalai Lama currently does not support full Tibet independence, which he believes is not the best strategy for achieving a free Tibet. PS Tibet is already designated as an "autonomous region" under Chinese law, so it is important to establish true autonomy. However, this is a completely different meaning to "self-government" and basically means that Tibet is not organized as states.

The kind of high degree of autonomy demanded by the Dalai Lama is clearly consistent with the People's Republic of China Constitution, as it is essentially the same arrangement currently applied to Hong Kong and Macao. In fact, the Dalai Lama's proposal is to make Tibet a special administrative region, but no one has said so.

In addition, many Tibetan Buddhists consider him to be "Averokiteshvara", the "god of mercy". This is often misunderstood even by Westerners. This does not at all mean that he is God in our sense. That doesn't mean he has special powers or special understanding. It means that they see him as the personification of compassion, a deep and all-encompassing compassion that is open not only to the individual, but to the suffering of all beings everywhere. And that compassion can be found within each of us. So it's not exclusive. They will also say about someone else. If you do something merciful, in that moment of mercy you too become Averokiteshvara. In this sense, the "embodiment of mercy" is numerous. And it is not treated as a "god" because it is an outsider being that is not us in the Western sense of God. That is, it looks like something far beyond us, like God. But the Buddhist teaching of compassion says that if we can only see it, it is in fact our true nature.

Therefore, many Tibetans believe that the Dalai Lama has a kind of mercy blessing. That does not mean, at least in the obvious sense, that he has always performed extraordinary acts of mercy. Yet somehow he feels inspired by mercy all his life.

Their concept of reincarnation has been passed down from Dalai Lama to Dalai Lama to the present day. But he is not the only one to receive this blessing. Many people have received this blessing. Many people belong to other religions or have no religion, and they show compassion. This "Blessing of Averokiteshvara" is also reflected in her benevolent actions.

For many Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is one such expression of compassion. As for his reputation in the West, he has had many conversations with scientists and others around the world. And many were impressed by his scholarship, his understanding of Buddhist teachings , and his message. This helps show how Buddhist teachings actually work in modern society, i.e., that Buddhist teachings are not outdated. He is particularly interested in science and has had many conversations with scientists on these subjects.

And of course he is interested in doing something to alleviate the plight of Tibetans in China. He is a moderate there. He no longer believes that secession of Tibet from China is the way forward. He believes the way forward is for Tibet to become part of China and have autonomy in areas such as education, prisons and environmental management.

If the Chinese engage more with him, engage in more dialogue, and try to understand him more, they will find a better person to act as a mediator and help lead Tibet to a mutually beneficial future. would be difficult, I think. and China.