A Teaching by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

On Tuesday, September 15^th we were all given the unique opportunity to attend a teaching by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Institute for Buddhist Dialectics temple complex in Mcleod Ganj. We were among the 1,400 foreigners that registered to attend the event along with 2,600 other devotees. The Korean delegation who paid for the event sat within the walls of the Dalai Lama's inner chamber. His Holiness sat next to large statues of the Buddha of compassion and Guru Rinpoche, and spoke with a well-articulated and measured pace. We were given am/fm radios through which we could hear an English-translation of the talk, which was presented in the Tibetan tongue. We were surrounded by monks from our sitting mats, outside of the chamber, which were positioned only 45 feet away from His Holiness. Through open doors and windows some of us were able to catch glimpses of him as he spoke. For security reasons taking pictures was not allowed.

For nearly an hour before H.H.D.L. appeared the Korean group stood and recited a series of prayers in unison, to the beat of a gock block. As the series of prayers came to a closing the Dalai Lama’s envoy appeared, with His Holiness in the middle, at the far end of the large open-air hall. Devotees on both sides of his pathway extended their hands and bowed their heads reverently as he passed by and entered the crowded inner chamber.

He began by greeting those that were in attendance, and those whose first time it was to hear a teaching. He explained that the teaching was from the Mahayana section of Buddhism, and offered some briefly profound statements about existence, one’s true identity, and the nature of emptiness. He went on to provide an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, which I appreciated, having not studied the subject for over a year. He spoke of the four noble truths, and described each in detail, particularly the part about cessation of suffering.

As he taught Tibetan flat bread, or palay, was handed out from buckets held by monks, and butter tea was served in styrofoam cups (a modern development that TESI – Tibetan environmental group – is trying to change.) I personally drank four cups, as apparently the beverage is an acquired taste that not all enjoy!

After describing the four noble truths he talked about his role as a teacher, and argued that one must have the proper motivation for giving a teaching. One must not be motivated by fame, promotion, jealousy, or competition. It was his testimony that teaching with these things in mind would cause the accumulation of negative karma. He also explained that the role of the student during a teaching was not only to listen to gain personal benefits, but also to have deep faith in the Buddhist teaching.

Much of what was taught after this point was above my level of understanding. At times it was difficult to understand the English translator. At times I lacked the knowledge of the religion needed to be familiar with certain references. From what I could understand a large part of the teaching was His Holiness’ interpretation of an Indian master’s commentary on a text of the Buddha’s word. From Buddha, to Indian master, to His Holiness, it is no wonder that some of the points were lost in translation!

When he left, the spiritual leader walked directly past our group, not more than five feet away. Even if we couldn’t understand every detail of what was said the students and I left the temple feeling appreciative of the experience we had all shared. It is remarkable that the program has hit such a high point so early in the semester.