 
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
              
|
Dalai Lama tailors his wisdom to a triumvirate of audiences Enlightens the faithful, the curious, the learners in full day here Friday, November 13, 1998 By Ann Rodgers-Melnick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The carload of students from West Virginia's Bethany College who came to Pittsburgh to see the Dalai Lama last night as part of their research on clairvoyance for a "Science and Pseudo-science" class may have been disappointed in what the Buddhist master had to say:
"The only thing that truly exists is the present. So therefore, I think talking about the future is useless," he proclaimed to laughter and applause in a sold-out Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland.
Nearly 2,500 people had paid $20 to hear the Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk talk about ethical challenges for the next millennium -- and another 2,000 were on the waiting list.
Earlier yesterday morning, devotees and the spiritually curious had packed Heinz Hall, Downtown, at $50 each to hear the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest spiritual leader, colorfully tutor about the meaning of the so-called "Heart Sutra" -- a sacred text that is one of the briefest, yet most highly concentrated summations of the religion's wisdom. Buddhist scholars and practitioners alike have spent centuries analyzing and meditating upon its nuances.
And in the noon hour, a decidedly mixed crowd of politicians, business leaders and followers of Buddha was drawn to the World Affairs Council's luncheon forum, during which the exiled leader of Tibet made an impassioned appeal for help in preserving Tibetan tradition against the Chinese onslaught in his abandoned homeland.
Three venues, three targeted speeches to three varied audiences, all in a span of hours; it would have taxed many a political leader, but the 63-year-old Dalai Lama triumphed throughout with an impish comic sense, well-timed aphorisms for noninitiates and clear purposefulness when addressing his serious message and his faithful.
The Bethany students came because they associated Buddhism with exotic phenomena, such as levitation. Freshman Kristi Zelkowski knew very little about the Dalai Lama, "but we learned about Tibet from the Beastie Boys on MTV, on the Tibet Freedom Concert" earlier this year, she said.
Her classmate, Raquel Burns, however, perceived the Dalai Lama, as a role model for youth.
"I think he's cool," she said. "He was only 5 years old when he was enthroned. When he was 16, he became king and took on adult responsibilities."
Before the Dalai Lama's 5 p.m. appearance at Soldiers & Sailors, attendees roamed among booths selling Tibetan Buddhist icons, religious books and Tibetan jewelry. At one table volunteers for Amnesty International collected signatures urging the Chinese authorities to free Tibetan political prisoners, including the 9-year-old boy who the Dalai Lama has identified as the next Panchen Lama -- the second-highest Tibetan spiritual leader -- and who was imprisoned three years ago.
"The Dalai Lama's visit puts a human face on human rights," said Scott Roller, area coordinator for Amnesty International.
Sara Azarius Eichmiller, 31, a yoga instructor from Mount Washington, follows a different school of Buddhism than that taught by the Dalai Lama. Whether he is an incarnate Buddha is irrelevant to her. What matters is his example as a man deeply wronged who refused to turn to hate, violence or despair."
Elsewhere in the hallway, Bhante Saddha, a monk in a Sri Lankan Buddhist community in West Virginia, contemplated a display case of Civil War shrapnel, one of many weaponry exhibits in the hall.
"This is really scary," he said. "We don't believe in killing."
Indeed, the Dalai Lama gave his talk from an easy chair beneath a rendering of the Gettysburg Address. While it spoke of the sacrifice of war to win political freedom, he advocated sacrificing one's own anger and self-interest in order to achieve the peace that leads to spiritual freedom.
He spoke of his optimism for the future, citing the successful avoidance of World War III, the dissipation of nationalism and totalitarianism and the growing communication between different parts of the world.
Many concerns he raised for the next millennium had to do with caring for the earth as well as its inhabitants. He urged Westerners to practice a simpler lifestyle, to use less water and to share their wealth. "There seems to be an unquestioned expectation that the economy should grow every year. That concept, one day, you will find difficult," he said with a deep laugh. "Too much luxury is not good. Sooner or later you will have to make an adjustment."
He noted the growing human population but said it should be controlled by "non-violent birth control." Although he didn't elaborate, the Dalai Lama has said in the past that he condones contraception but not abortion because the latter is a form of killing. He has been especially concerned about forced abortion in Tibet.
Last night, however, he said only half-jokingly that he enthusiastically endorsed monasticism as a non-violent method of birth control.
Finally, in his litany of challenges, he noted recent concern about an asteroid colliding with the earth.
"That is beyond our control," he said. "The only thing that can be done for this is reincarnation."
Human compassion is the secret to solving the other problems, he continued. Selfishness breeds constant fear and magnifies a person's problems out of proportion. But compassion leads to good health, good relationships and the strength to face truly great problems.
Picking up a wristwatch he had removed at the start of his talk, he decided it was time to sum up: "The important thing, I believe, is to be a nice person."
That echoed his morning wrap-up at Heinz Hall, when he exhorted the crowd to "be good human beings!"
But much of his message there plumbed complexities of scholarly analysis that had listeners parsing the truths behind a sacred text's declaration that "form is emptiness, (and) emptiness is form."
His Holiness offered hope that understanding of that statement, and ultimately a liberation from human ignorance, would come from "gradual training," much like the process of educating a child. Part of such wisdom derives from grasping not "self-cherishing thoughts," but instead the interdependence of all beings, he said.
Switching from occasionally halting English to the sing-song of his native tongue, aided by an interpreter, the Dalai Lama navigated these philosophies and just as easily switched to crowd-pleasers like this: "The common goal is a happy life, pleasant life. Buddhist teaching is meant for Nirvana (enlightenment) but also brings a happy life."
The Heinz Hall crowd had to arise before dawn and wait cheerfully in the chill for more than an hour while metal-detector wands checked each hall arrival. Later, two K-9 bomb sniffers checked under prayer rugs on stage just before the entrance of the controversial and endangered leader.
Setting the mood, recorded prayer chants of monks permeated the room -- the extended sound of "Om" seemingly an octave beneath the deepest barbershop-quartet bass singers. A dozen robed monks sat in a semicircle on the stage. Then, after the Dalai Lama's entrance and greetings by representatives of a key organizer, The Three Rivers Dharma Center in Regent Square, he made his own welcome:
"My main effort usually, wherever I go, is I want to try to make clear human values: happiness, tranquillity and also benefit to others. ... This is a time to promote harmony among different traditions. ..."
Some in his audience had traveled far. A couple from Virginia Beach, Va. -- one a yoga student, the other a supporter of Tibetan human rights -- had been in Kentucky the night before, heading home, but detoured to Pittsburgh for what they saw as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Dalai Lama in person. Another couple from New Jersey, asked if the lecture had been as expected, initially said yes, then reconsidered. They offered a more Buddhist response: "It met our expectations because we had no expectations."
The Dalai Lama's visit to Pittsburgh was sponsored by Pittsburgh Friends of Tibet, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the Buddhist Society of Pittsburgh and the Three Rivers Dharma Center.
Post-Gazette staff writer Hugh Cutler contributed to this report.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
