With some interest this white man has followed the arrival of the Dalai Lama on his latest visit to Australia. As usual, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has been afforded the 'rock star' treatment seemingly customary for a leader befitting his status. As a global icon of peace, love and all-things harmonious, the Dalai Lama is never without a willing throng of devotees and 'spiritual groupies' seeking a word of wisdom or perhaps just to hear an example of the slight high-pitched cackle of laughter that sounds a little unseemly coming from such an 'enlightened being'. And they are just the journalists, slavishly trailing the robed guru proclaiming the message of the man it seems no-one has a bad word to say about...well no-one not affliliated with the government of that rather large Asian country that stands between the Lama and his homeland anyway!What strikes me about the inevitable hoopla when the Dalai Lama visits really has nothing much to do with him. To be honest, I have nothing against the man at all - I think he is a fine ambassador for his brand of religion and the values he espouses are generally positive and life-affirming. And I'm certainly not in the business of bashing other religious figures simply for the sake of some "my God's better than your god" argument. I have friends who profess their belief in Buddhism and this is their right - a right I respect and affirm. But let me say this - I always find it bemusing that such a cult of celebrity falls not only upon the Dalai Lama but on his religion as well. It seems that as soon as the Lama hits town Tibetan Buddhism is suddenly elevated to being the legitimate cure for everything from Western decadence, empty materialistic living, childhood obesity to male pattern baldness and so on...But be warned - the cure from the Bodhi tree doesn't come cheap. $5000.00 for a premium ticket to enlightenment sees the Lama's wisdom come at a price.
In these days where the legal right of Christianity to be taught in Australian schools is being challenged, my great heartache inside lies in the fact that it seems that another Great High Lama (by the way "lama" is a Tibetan word for high priest) receives none of the pop-star attention the Dalai Lama and his inspiration, Gautama Buddha get. Not that Jesus the Lama would have been seeking all the stuff that goes along with a Dalai Lama visit. Let me put it this way - Australian's would do well to reflect and remember that one Jesus of Nazareth lived an exemplary life that both spiritually taught and practically demonstrated all the intrinsic values that the Dalai Lama emphasises. No it's not a competition in any way, but how I grieve that somewhere along the way it seems that churches have excelled in portraying the author of our faith as nothing more than a boring option for old people who don't have a life anymore. But I guess it's far more trendy these days to jump on the Buddhist bandwagon as opposed to the foundational essence of what a God-man called Christ lived and breathed. Maybe the challenge of journeying one's life along a Christ-modelled pathway of unconditional and radical servantude will never be as appealing as vacating your mind in a lotus position whilst contemplating the cosmic meaning of 'nothingness'...
Well Jesus Christ is my Great High Lama and in Him I find my meaning. And He doesn't need my $5000 because He has already paid a far higher price for me!
2 comments:
It sounds a lot like you're talking trash about Buddhism because of your perception of the reaction it gets from a Western audience. As if the media and Christians don't make a big deal about the activities of the Pope as well. The condescending tone in your description of what you think "Buddhists do", like contemplating the "meaning of 'nothingness'" and "meditating in the lotus position" is palpable. I wonder if your "Buddhist friends" have read this piece of yours, because it is a rather one-sided bashing of the straw man you have made of the Dalai Lama's "spiritual groupies". Did you know that the Dalai Lama is not the Buddhist "pope", so many believe him to be? He represents the head religious figure of one small sect of Tibetan Buddhism, he is a spiritual teacher, not the voice for "all of Buddhism". If you like Christianity, that's your thing, but if liking Jesus means you feel you have to "defend" his word and religion (as though he needed it) by belittling other faiths, it is a demonstration of the impotence of your faith and your god, and just how little you have learned (from any teacher).
I apologize if I reacted a little to harshly to your article. But I felt it had to be said. That last part was a bit much, I admit. But from the little ques in your article it really does feel like you don't understand the real beliefs of Buddhism, and just roll with the immediate perceptions people have about it here in the West. I've heard people say that Buddhism is a religion about "suffering" because of its emphasis on unhappiness. But Christianity doesn't feature any obsession with the suffering state of man and the personal suffering of a particular individual who died for a cause, right? Just an example of the weird ignorance people will go on as though it were absolute fact, like myself of course. I just wanted to apologize for any insulting or defensive tone my comment may have had. I thought I was past attempting to instigate religious arguments, but I guess I still have some maturing to do.
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