H.H. Dalai Lama is 83 years old today
July 6, 2018
Happy Birthday!
His Holiness Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people committed to promoting human values such as compassion and love, and to enable understanding and harmony among all religions. He has been working in great effort on preserving Tibetan Buddhist culture of peace and non-violence.
He said, “All major religious traditions, including its different ideologies, all carry one message, ie. message of love, forgiveness, tolerance and self-discipline. On that basis, we can develop genuine harmony.”
Living a disciplined life for the benefit of all living beings for decades, he is still strong and healthy at age 83. He said he is looking forward to another 15, 20 years, continuing to promote a sense of oneness of the 7 billion human beings on this Earth.
The following is an excerpt from his book Ethics for the New Millennium:
The best way to ensure that when we approach death we do so without remorse is to ensure that in the present moment we conduct ourselves responsibly and with compassion for others. Actually, this is in our own interest, and not just because it will benefit us in the future. As we have seen, compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful. It is the source of all lasting happiness and joy. And it is the foundation of a good heart, the heart of one who acts out of a desire to help others. Through kindness, through affection, through honesty, through truth and justice toward all others we ensure our own benefit. This is not a matter for complicated theorizing. It is a matter of common sense. There is no denying that consideration of others is worthwhile. There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. There is no denying that if society suffers, we ourselves suffer. Nor is there any denying that the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill-will, the more miserable we become. Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion.
This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need. So long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy.
TRTCC’S spiritual director, Ven. Khenpo Choephel is currently out of town teaching.
When he comes back next week we will have a simple celebration of the birthday of
His Holiness Dalai Lama.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at 7pm.
ALL ARE WELCOME
LOCATION: Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center
7313 Florence Avenue,
Pittsburgh PA 15218