Published in the Nouvel Observateur of August 14, 2008 —
Thousands of French people are turning to the " living Buddha " who is visiting us. Religious specialist Frédéric Lenoir deciphers the fascination exerted by this peaceful fighter
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Le Nouvel Observateur. – You have devoted several books to Buddhism and Tibet, and you have often met the Dalai Lama. Do you think his popularity is a passing fad?
Frédéric Lenoir. – This popularity, which has remained undiminished for twenty years, rather demonstrates a deep interest in the person and his message. The Dalai Lama reaches people from very diverse social categories, from bobos to employees and retirees. He is perceived as a simple, funny, spontaneous man. And at the same time, we know he carries all the suffering of his people. This makes him particularly touching.
NO – It seems to resolve a contradiction: how to fight without losing one’s serenity…
F. Lenoir. – Yes, by resisting with a smile on his lips, he reconciles what we consider to be opposites. And this joy of living mixed with human tragedy gives great weight to his Buddhist message, since he is the living witness to the authenticity of his words.
NO – But why is he loved by ordinary people, who are not particularly interested in Tibet or Buddhism?
F. Lenoir. – Because he is ordinary in his behavior despite an extraordinary destiny. He does not pose as a great scholar. He speaks in very simple terms, he is always open, welcoming, relaxed, bursting into laughter at the slightest thing. He often replies that he does not know, which is extremely rare among men of his stature.
NO – And this aura of holiness, of moral authority?
F. Lenoir. – Despite everything that's happening between China and Tibet, he has never changed course in his discourse of benevolence and non-violence. He is neither sour nor bitter. He insists that no one speak ill of the Chinese. We say to ourselves that this man is driven by an extraordinary force. Where does he find it? Probably in his spiritual practices, in an exercise in self-reflection worthy of the greatest philosophers of Antiquity. We are in front of a Marcus Aurelius, an Epictetus. The Dalai Lama begins his days with four hours of meditation. This is undoubtedly what gives him the emotional distance of the sages. And then there is this kindness that can be read on his face when we see him on television or in photographs. I have personally witnessed acts of gratuitous attention towards people who had nothing to offer him, far from microphones and cameras.
NO – But doesn’t it first respond to the need for a change of scenery of our jaded societies, in search of easy esotericism?
F. Lenoir. – There are certainly several motivations for the Dalai Lama's popularity, which may even overlap for some. There is certainly a superficial curiosity for an exotic wisdom that provides a pleasant change from our own traditions. But there is also a deeper search for an answer to the dual collapse of the great religious and political ideologies. Our societies are experiencing a serious crisis of traditional religions. The belief in politics that succeeded him has in turn been discredited over the past thirty years. These successive disenchantments have generated a collective need, a questioning of the meaning to be given to existence.
NO – But what meaning can the Dalai Lama bring to those disappointed by Christianity or communism?
F. Lenoir. – He acknowledges the fact that collective initiatives, even those that advocate a magnificent ideal, can be exploited by strategies of domination and fall into violence, unless they are based on individual transformation. He says: all social or political revolutions will be useless if everyone does not make their own inner revolution. He thus subscribes to the great current of contemporary individualism by affirming that what matters above all is the individual's work on himself.
NO – We are far from classical Buddhist teaching.. .
F. Lenoir. – It's true that the Dalai Lama has changed his discourse. For a long time, through his books and his major public lectures, he transmitted traditional Buddhist teachings, sometimes very complex. In the mid-1990s, he realized that his listeners did not have the necessary background to understand Buddhism, which generated many misunderstandings. He decided to transmit simple values centered around eternal questions such as happiness and self-control. How can one be responsible for one's life in such a way as to be happy while making others happy? This message, which echoes ancient wisdom, is at the crossroads between the individual and the collective, through an ethic of responsibility – that's his keyword. We are responsible for humanity. Hence the interest he also developed in ecology. He is at the forefront of this fight in the name of the Buddhist conception of the interdependence of phenomena, according to which every local action has general, planetary consequences.
NO – The fact remains that, for many observers, the Dalai Lama's success can be explained first and foremost by the decline of our traditional religions, that he is thriving on the ruins of Judeo-Christianity. What do you think? F. Lenoir. – What you say is true of the success of Buddhism in the West in general. But the Dalai Lama reaches many more people than the fringe who convert or are interested in Buddhism. And as a religious figure, he inspires great support because he presents an exceptional image of tolerance. He responds to the intolerance that has been the great failing of monotheistic religions for centuries. By agreeing to dialogue with everyone, by being free from any sectarian discourse, he appears as a sort of anti-pope, as a perfectly tolerant sage who nevertheless does not renounce his convictions. He affirms that there are paths to wisdom in all religions. And therefore, he tirelessly repeats, we must not change religion, but each person must find in their own the seeds of spirituality present everywhere. His discourse is a break with the active proselytism of other religious leaders.
NO – Including that of the Tibetan lamas, because we are witnessing a rapid expansion and institutionalization of Tibetan Buddhism in our latitudes…
F. Lenoir. – That's true, and we shouldn't be fooled. There is in fact a gap between the Dalai Lama's anti-proselytizing discourse—which is sincere, as I've often seen—and the significant expansion of Tibetan Buddhism in the West since the 1970s. Most of the lamas, Tibetan and Western, who run the newly created centers are in fact seeking to recruit through advertising, marketing, and a certain seduction. There is indeed proselytizing on the ground, even if it is not aggressive and remains well below the proselytizing of, for example, the Pentecostals.
NO – Would you say that Tibetan religious leaders have a strategy to win over Western elites? You write in your book that such a decision was made after the loss of Tibet…
F. Lenoir. – If the Chinese had not invaded Tibet, the lamas would never have left their country. After about fifteen years of exile, they decided to use the Western card to preserve their culture. Westerners passionate about Buddhism – especially the French, in fact – sought them out in India and persuaded them to found centers in Europe and America. They offered them the means to teach the language, transmit the texts, and keep their culture alive. It was a historic opportunity. From that moment on, there was in fact a general strategy on the part of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans, to accept all requests to found centers in the West, with the aim of maintaining their culture and reaching Western opinion on the cause of Tibet. They thus obtained the support of public opinion – against governments that are careful not to act effectively, particularly in international bodies. This general sympathy has undoubtedly contributed to the fact that Tibet is still alive.
NO – Why is Tibetan Buddhism, among all the schools of Buddhism, the most successful, particularly in France?
F. Lenoir. – Tibet is one of the oldest Western myths. Since the Middle Ages, Marco Polo and missionaries have brought back fabulous tales of lamas endowed with magical powers. This image has permeated Western consciousness to the present day. One need only reread “Tintin in Tibet” to realize this! Added to this is a special relationship between Tibet and France. There have been many explorers who have written colorful stories, such as Father Hue at the end of the 19th century, Alexandra David-Néel, the films of Arnaud Desjardins, a whole lineage that has aroused this interest in France. We must also take into account French schizophrenia, both Cartesian and Catholic, to which Tibetan Buddhism responds perfectly. Like all Buddhisms, it is pragmatic and rational – one must experience things before believing; But Tibetan Buddhism is also the most "religious" and the most "magical," attaching great importance to rituals, saints, clergy, and sacred images. There are bodhisattvas, great ceremonies with music and incense, and monasteries. The French—like the Spanish and Italians—therefore rediscover the Catholicism of their childhood in a new form. This creates unconscious links. We also note that in Anglo-Saxon Protestant countries like Germany and England, Zen, sober and austere, is more successful.
Interview by Ursula Gauthier,
Le Nouvel Observateur