Dalai Lama Speach Part 2

Questions for the Dalai Lama:

1. I’m just one person how can I do any good?
1. Seeing immense problems causes hopelessness.
2. EFFORT by humanity causes change.
3. Become a peaceful person then it can multiply.

2. How to forgive unethical violence?
1. We all have the ability to make a distinction between right and wrong.  Don’t keep negative feelings.  Think of how bad that person that created the unethical violence will feel later.
2. THINK out of a sense of concern, not anger.
3. TAKE ACTION if confrontation is necessary. Take it not out of hate but out of concern.
4. Forgiveness does not me ‘forget’ness”

3. What to do about all the bad technology taking over our lives?
1. “Bad” is your opinion, not all technology is bad.
2. It’s your own mistake if you watch TV 10 hours a day.
3. The Dali Lama watches animals and gets lots of information. He likes the Discovery Channel.

4. How do you spend your free time?
1. Read
2. Thinking brings lots of rest.
3. Spend more time with your children

                                              i.     Provide maximum affection. Then there is real hope for the next generation being a compassionate generation and there is real hope for the 21^st century.

                                             ii.     20^th century was violence.

                                           iii.     21^st century could be peace.

                                           iv.     We can change THIS century!

5. What is the most important thing to achieve in life?
1. A peaceful life which brings maximum happiness.

                                              i.     Joke:  “He met a Cuban who prayed to God for God to bring Castro to heaven sooner”

6. What’s the best way to enlighten children?
1. He doesn’t like the work best because ‘best’ sometimes means ‘quickest’ and then ‘cheapest’.
2. Provide maximum affection: disposition, genes and enlightenment is different in all children.
3. Try to introduce a more holistic view of citizens of the world.
4. Nature.

7. Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
1. Buddha

                                              i.     He was a man.

                                             ii.     Many followers used ‘mind’ to shape collective emotions.

                                           iii.     Great thinker.

                                           iv.     Great philosopher.

                                            v.     He didn’t want his followers to accept his beliefs out of faith but out of investigation.

2. Mother Theresa

                                              i.     Gravely dedicated to people.

8. If you loose your way, how do you find the right path?
1. The future is no guarantee…at the same time it is open.
2. Develop self-confidence.
3. Develop optimism.
4. Find a new way – not a narrow one (like a horse with blinders on the side).
5. Narrow minded thinking causes it – look around and you can find a different way.
6. Determination.
7. Holistic view.
8. Know obstacles are bound to happen.

9. How do you let go of past pain and find peace?
1. You should still feel the pain so you have more EFFORT to get over it.
2. You need to feel it to get DETERMINATION to find ways and means to get over it.
3. After pain there are 2 options:

                                              i.     Loose hope, become demoralized.

                                             ii.     More difficulty and experience makes you stronger.

4. WWII generation is strong, current Americans & So. Koreans are soft because of no war and pain.  Sept 11 caused America to get stronger.
5. Difficulties create strength & determination in your being and make you wiser.
6. Tsunami in Japan: He met and told a man ‘you built your country from ashes so you can rebuild [again].
7. After pain there is truth and respect.
8. Short term power of [determination?] is strength. Long term power of compassion is strength.
9. After bombs, if you are honest and truthful you can get determination.

10. I’m struggling with a world more cruel than compassionate.
1. The Dali Lama trained his mind through doing wrong things (making mistakes), competition, and debate.  Competition for example when scientists present info, others question and make the scientist say; I have to think about that.
2. Train your mind through investigation

Joke:  Why did God create mischievous people?

Since God created hell there must be some people who go to hell.

3. Problems:  If they come from nature we can’t change them.  If they come from mind or heart then we can change them.
4. Alone man can’t achieve; If we have group responsibility with moderate resistance we can cause change.
5. We have more knowledge than our ancestors.  This gives us more potential today than ever before.
6. Emory, Stanford, others are creating more attention to compassion.
7. It will not happen overnight, it will be a gradual change.
8. Young people have 90 more years to go and have opportunity to make a new world.
9. The Dali has one eye in this world and one eye in the next life.

Make contribution

Take care of heart & make an honest life

Dalai Lama Speach Part 1

Dear Friends,

Recently a friend of mine, Jeanette Amen attended a talk given San Diego State University.  The most precious guest speaker was the Dalai Lama. The focus of his talk was Compassion. Thanks to Jeanette, I am able to provide a series of concepts from this wonderful talk. Thanks Jeanette!

“There are 7 billion people on the planet,” he said.

“Compassion comes from the mind and emotion of all of us. There are 2 kinds of emotion:

         Fear and anger lead to destructive emotion.

         Love and compassion lead to constructive emotion.

We survive by our mother’s care; the seed of compassion is in all of us. Fear & anger in small children is very bad.”

         Perhaps what His Holiness was trying to convey was that we must all work to cultivate that seed of compassion in our children by our own deeds and words.

“A very important rule: At death or illness the most important factor is being surrounded by family and/or friends, not money, not being physically perfect, not possessions.”

“Compassion is the most important part of life.” 

To be happy think in terms of togetherness: your life is my life; your health is my health.”

“Mental worry causes alcohol, drug, and eating problems. Physical comfort can’t subdue mental pain. But mental effort can subdue physical pain. Mental pain is from worry & loneliness. The mental level of experience is more important and more serious than any other.”

“The new ‘cancer’ is the corruption and injustice around the world today. Ultimately we need self- discipline.”

“Religion makes us very narrow.  We need another approach not based on religion.”  [AMEN!!] Secularism will solve problems universally – not out of disrespect for religion, but in respect for believers and non-believers.”

“As children grow they get socialized and they start to think: if I make this friendship how much will I get. This fosters jealousy and extreme competition. Competition is good, extreme competition is bad.”

“We have 2 egos:

1.   One builds strength, courage, a strong sense of self, and compassion

2.   One builds desire, attachment, self-focus and is destructive

One being can rob the sense of self of another being.”

“Anger:

1.   Anger out of ill feeling is bad.

2.   Anger out of  [injustice?] is fine.”

“If there is maximum affection from our mother when we are a child, then when we are grown up, then throughout our life we will have trust and affection of others. If there is no affection from our mother, then our whole life we will feel unsafe, insecure, suspicious and jealous.”

“A healthy mind causes a healthy body, when we come with open warm-heartedness as our attitude. Jealousy and fear are caused by our human interaction with our mortal brothers & sisters. This is not the same fear as fear of death, which is there to protect us [and cause to think before we act.] When you open your heart you can see the other parts of life and it reduces anxiety. When you are suspicious it leads to distrust.”

“When he wakes up the first thing the Dali Lama decides to think about is Buddha and altruism, then the whole day he thinks of dedicating his mind and spirit to it.”

“We can change by doing this practice daily, monthly, and yearly. This is a centuries old concept:

         THINK

         MAKE EFFORT”

“If you THINK ‘you are a part of me’ you create togetherness.

If you Think ‘you are different’ you will create distance and problems.”

“THINK:  Create inner peace to create family then…

MAKE EFFORT:  to create a better world.”

  See part 2 next week

KS&L 380 Superheroes Part 2 Where Are Today's Superheroes by Tina Erwin

       Frankly, I have no idea where today’s public superheroes are. Truly, I looked everywhere, all over the world and could find only one among today’s politicians, business, educational leaders and religious leaders.

       Everywhere I looked, all I found were public people with private agendas looking to glean power from every situation.

       Oh wait! I did find one person. He is the most amazing superhero I could find. Let me introduce you.

       This soul stood alone against the largest nation on earth with the greatest standing army on the planet.

       This man never raised a weapon in anger.

       Despite the total destruction of his country, they could not capture him, nor subjugate his sense of justice, truth and compassion.

       He prayed for his enemy despite the destruction of his own country.

       He is a tireless supporter of the weak, the fearful, and the lonely.

       He embraces every faith on this planet as beautiful.

       Every face he greets receives his blessing and his love.

       People who meet him are never the same. They feel the warmth of his power for a very long time.

       He says he was born on this planet, but perhaps he is ‘other-worldly’ because his sense of love and consideration defy description.

        He is, without question, the most universally respected human being on the planet today.

       What is his super power? I think perhaps I will have you read his belief, in his own words:

       “This is my simple religion.

       There is no need for temples

       No need for complicated philosophy,

       Our own brain, our own heart

       Is our temple.

       The philosophy is kindness.

                     Dalai Lama      

      

       The Dalai Lama would be the only superhero worthy of that name. Think about it, he is the only human being on earth today to ably resist all the temptations of the world, the oppression of the Chinese, the largest nation on earth, not to mention the disease du jour: greed. He serves all of humanity every day of the year through his daily spiritual practice. His message of love and service are the shining representation of all that is critically important in the description of any superhero. Consider how greatly the world would be diminished without him. His presence on our planet changes our planet for the better.

       Are there less public souls who fill some of the attributes of a superhero? Yes, they are the ones who, in the tradition of a superhero, send healing and hope to the world in the privacy of their own homes. Some people send prayers to this needy world through their religious organizations without prejudice, without anyone having to believe in their particular faith.

       Are there moms and dads out there who have overcome great odds to be where they are today? Absolutely! They are superheroes to their families. Are their souls who stand up for the less fortunate on a day-to-day basis? Yes, they do exist beyond the artificial television show or movie.

       If there were not a quiet phalanx of spiritual superheroes who live each day among us, the world would have descended into chaos and darkness quite a long time ago. Without them, life as we know it could not exist. The qualities of the day-to-day superhero include:
       The Passion of their beliefs

       Service

       Truthfulness

       Courage

       Hope

       Diligence

       Balance

       Unimpeachable ethics

       Kindness

       Physical, emotional, mental and spiritual strength

       These traits are critical for any merely mortal superhero. I know lots of seemingly ordinary superheroes. These are the unsung heroes who make life on this planet worth living, who gamble that doing the right thing will make a difference in the long run even if it is not popular in the short run. A superhero is someone who struggles along each day in quiet desperation at a job that he or she despises and still does the right thing, still does a good job.

       Let fear leave us because we have the knowledge that there are some super human beings out there who are doing a wonderful job for all of us even if we do not know them.

       I bet, that if you are reading this, you are a superhero in the modest sense to someone in your life, to someone who’s life you have touched. Please, keep up the good work. We need you.

This chapter is dedicated to my husband, to my children and their wonderful spouses, to all of my siblings, their spouses and their children and to my most precious friends. Thank you all for being my inspiration.

KS&L 379 Super Heroes Part 1 Why We Need Superheroes Right Now! by Tina Erwin

       Whenever there appears to be a time when we as a nation feel threatened, we imagine that there is a magical being, a seemingly ordinary person with astounding powers. But wait, think about this though, usually, it’s guys who have this fantasy. You’d think it would be women, but no, it’s guys who dream up superheroes.

       The male writers of comic books slip into the fantasy of what it would be like if there were such a person who could rescue us from whatever calamity has currently befallen us. Is this men longing to be more powerful than they currently are?

       Women authors write about men coming to rescue them in a romantic way, but the truth is that men also dream of being rescued as well from all kinds of things that are far more globally threatening.

       These writers are amazingly creative, too. They dream of this astounding being righting wrongs, protecting us from the bullies in our life and saving the world from harm. Predominantly, these superheroes are male. And these writers want us to know that we can believe in the superhero du jour because he has powers bordering on the divine:

       • this super being can fly, often into outer space.

       • this astonishing hero has the strength of twenty men.

       • this great one, has the wisdom of the sages.

       • this champion of the underdog is a soul of superior ethics, morals, and judgment.

       • this heroic idol is so intelligent, he can figure out the toughest problem.

       • And this conqueror of evil is so humble that he walks among us, anonymous, unknown and unsung.

       What makes this so startling, is that these superheroes come in astounding forms and virtually all of them wear tights that so tightly fit their rippling muscles and virile form that the sight of them takes our breath away:

       We have an ordinary guy in the 1940’s who fight’s Hitler, a Captain United States* kind of guy who starts out puny and ends up with the powerfully sexy, glistening body of a god.

       There is a guy with powers from outer space who glows handsomely green, having been endowed with truly other worldly powers.

        There’s the alien who arrives in a space capsule and ends up living in a crystal cave at the top of the world. This is the guy who wears glasses and flies through the air and rescues a newspaperwoman when terrifying things happen to her, among other death defying duties.

       Of course there is the Instant guy, flashing all around very quickly.

       Let us not forget arachnid man who weaves a web of intrigue in the city he is protecting, ever mindful of the responsibility that accompanies his great powers.

       In the 1940’s there was a shadowy man who ‘knew’ ‘things’ psychically and who’s ancestry went back to Tibet.

       There is the Righteous League of America a bunch of avenging guys including Instant man, Neptune man, [and the token] Wow Woman, Superb Man and the Batty Man. Oh, Oh!! Don’t forget the Might Morphing Strength Rangers, Ferrous Sulfate Man, Odin, a reference to Norse strength, and a Green Lamp guy. Maybe he lights the way for the other guys. . . .

       In the 1950’s there was Mighty Rodent who could fly and lift entire buildings. Really? The physics of this might have defied belief, but an entire generation of little kids bought into this idea of a small, flying rat.

       If you think about it, virtually every decade since about the 1930’s has had some type of comic book superhero to satisfy the need to believe in a higher level of protection. This higher power isn’t God, but someone who has the visible power of a god but who looks just like us – with a few subtle muscular modifications.

       In the 1930’s we were suffering from the Depression, then we went to World War II, followed closely by the Korean ‘Conflict’, which morphed into the Cold War with the evil Soviets. The Viet Nam War was a natural outgrowth of our fears of Communism. Were the superheroes of those times Presidents Roosevelt and Truman? Did our leaders fail us later on with the unending conflicts of hot and cold war?

       Communism was knocked down with a clunk in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. Were the superheroes of the day President Reagan, and Soviet President Gorbachev? Was it the Pope, or the Polish people who worked behind the scenes to reduce world tension? Perhaps there was no clear-cut super hero. Perhaps it was very ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances seizing the moment and changing history.

       However, today, as this piece is being written, for the very first time, the threat seems so tremendous, so terrifying that we need an entire league of superheroes. One won’t cut it. In a recent film, it took an entire team of astonishingly powerful champions to overcome what appeared to be an exceptionally vague yet utterly deadly threat.

       Is that what we as a people are sensing? Are we feeling a tremendous peril that is so overwhelming for us that we cannot specifically describe it? Think about it, pretty much the big screen is overrun with brave men with super powers beyond imagination fighting not only local threats to our cities, but these big guys are also taking on global, interstellar threats. Is that what we are feeling in the subconscious regions of our soul? Where is the source of all of this fear? Are we fearful because despite the huge population of chatty politicians globally, there is not one soul who inspires us to believe in truth, justice and the way of the superhero?

       Where are today’s superheroes? Part 2 will offer some modest ideas.

       * Due to my desire to respect copyrights, the superhero names have been modified. See if you can guess who they are!