1/29/2023 0 Comments Dalai lama religion![]() This volume could be viewed as the distillation of the Dalai Lama’s lifelong interest in science and its evolving understanding of consciousness, subjective experience, rhythms of nature and the fabric of the universe. When it comes to obtaining certain, direct results, it is clear that prayer cannot match the achievements of, for instance, modern science.” “But we must accept that its tangible results are often hard to see. “In fact, I consider prayer to be of immense psychological benefit,” he says. Even the power of prayer has dissipated in his eyes. But some readers, particularly those with strong religious beliefs, are bound to find the Dalai Lama’s argument troubling. This is anything but a book denouncing faith. Likewise, we are born free of religion, but we are not born free of the need for compassion.” “While we can live without tea, we can’t live without water. “But however the tea is prepared, the primary ingredient is always water,” he says. Ethics grounded in religion is tea, a nutritious and aromatic blend of water, tea leaves, spices, sugar and, in Tibet, a pinch of salt. Ethics without religious content is water, a critical requirement for health and survival. Even people who do not believe in religion recognize the importance of these human values in making their life happier.” It’s easy to appreciate this commitment to decency.A metaphor the Dalai Lama likes to use goes like this: The difference between ethics and religion is like the difference between water and tea. We all want happiness and do not want suffering. ![]() As the Dalai Lama explains on his Facebook page, “All human beings are the same. And although these same spiritual leaders are often ignored, exiled, or killed, they never seem to give up the fight. Spiritual leaders from every corner of the globe have been reiterating these ideas for thousands of years. Furthermore, the temples most worth visiting are the ones that exist in our hearts but sit empty all too often. This change in attitude begins with the individual, not some societal imposition. ![]() What matters more is our willingness to show compassion for others through an active focus on meeting more tangible needs. Thus, obsessing over unaddressable issues serves a lesser purpose. Not only do qualities like love, compassion, and forgiveness serve as their own reward, but they can also function in the complete absence of any given religious belief system, which many people don’t seem to realize. On the other hand, the Dalai Lama sees spirituality as a set of altruistic behavioral patterns that shape the interior world of the emotions in a fluid and productive manner. There’s no guarantee that any of this leads to happiness. It is a cultural imposition designed to instill belief at a broad societal level, beginning with the individual, who is taught to accept doctrine, usually from early childhood. This line of reasoning implies that religion is a congregation of ideological assumptions spawned from a static metaphysical vision of our external reality. What we cannot do without are these basic spiritual qualities. This is why I sometimes say religion is something we can perhaps do without. There is thus no reason why the individual should not develop them, even to a high degree, without recourse to any religious or metaphysical belief system. While ritual and prayer, along with questions of nirvana and salvation are directly connected with religious faith, these inner qualities need not be, however. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit–such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another–an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of metaphysical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. The following paragraph, taken from The Pocket Dalai Lama, is a case in point given its smart portrayal of outer and inner experience as behavioral guides: Although a fair number of Westerners disagree with the Dalai Lama’s metaphysical assumptions, when he’s on task concerning psychological and sociological issues, the spirit of his message deserves attention. Many of his writings respond to humanity’s plenitude of self-imposed miseries with a complement of practical insights that still serve as a refreshing alternative to some damaging cultural expectations. The Dalai Lama is one of those lucky few whose thoughts are as clear as a mountain stream yet as deep as the ocean.
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