Psychologies Magazine , January 2003.
Tenzin Gyatso, the son of a peasant born in a distant province of Tibet, had a prodigious destiny. Discovered at the age of two through dreams and oracles, and considered the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, he was taken to Lhasa, the capital, to be enthroned. At the age of five, he became the new spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. From then on, he led the life of a monk, took a vow of chastity, and pursued a long course of philosophical studies. In 1959, he was forced to secretly flee his country, which had been occupied by China for ten years, and went into exile in India. In 1989, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his peaceful resistance and that of his people, who were experiencing a veritable cultural genocide. Since 1973, he has traveled regularly to the West, where this "simple Buddhist monk," as he likes to call himself, has become a media personality. An apostle of humanist spirituality, he is touching with his exceptional charisma. This is due as much to this extraordinary destiny as to his warm personality, as much to his infectious laughter as to the true adequacy between his words and his actions.
THE FIVE KEYS TO HIS THOUGHT
1 – CHOOSE NONVIOLENCE
Despite the atrocities committed by the Chinese in Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso always opposed not only any form of armed resistance, but also the denigration of his adversaries. “Whatever they do to us, never speak ill of the Chinese,” he tirelessly repeated to his interlocutors. Nonviolence must take root in our hearts as a refusal to enter the infernal spiral of hatred, revenge, and striking back. This message is inspired both by the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and the political example of Gandhi, to whom the Dalai Lama often pays homage.
2- THERE IS NO SINGLE TRUTH Since
the same truth can take on different guises, the Dalai Lama advocates religious tolerance. He regularly surprises his Western audiences by telling them that it is useless, and often even negative, to want to change religion. This attitude is not feigned. During a private audience, he was seen offering an icon of Christ to an Anglican who confessed to having recently converted to Buddhism. He said these words to him: "Buddha is my door, Jesus is your door."
3 – WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ACTIONS
The Buddhist concepts of causality and the interdependence of all things are at the heart of his teachings. Every phenomenon is the result of the causes and conditions that gave rise to it, and all phenomena produced are interdependent. As a result, each of our actions generates effects (positive or negative) for ourselves, but also influences global reality. Hence an ethic of individual responsibility – we are responsible for all our actions – which is inseparable from the evolution of the planet. “Peace of heart leads to world peace,” the Dalai Lama likes to repeat, insisting that “the motivation that presides over the action is more important than the action itself, because it is the intention that induces our responsibility.”
4 – HAPPINESS IS LEARNED
“Achieving authentic happiness requires transforming your way of thinking and the way you look at the world and others.” By observing yourself carefully, we can understand how negative emotions, thoughts and actions make you unhappy and how, conversely, positive emotions, thoughts and actions make your life more fulfilling. Through introspection and working on yourself, you gradually learn to be happy.
5 – LOVE AND COMPASSION
“The true value of existence is manifested in regard to compassion.” Compassion is not a feeling or an emotion, but the fruit of a rational understanding of reality and the true nature of the human mind. To annihilate the poison of selfishness and attachment to one’s own ego, one must discover that every being suffers and that this suffering is the cause of all evil. It is by having compassion for every suffering being – beginning with those who make us suffer – that we will free our minds from the darkness of ignorance and achieve peace of heart.
Psychologies Magazine, January 2003.