This Is This

A nice day of cultural awareness and Buddhism with the Tibetan community of London to celebrate the 70th birthday of Tenzin Gyatso, better known as the Dalai Lama.

Happy biiiiirthdaaaaaay His Holineeeessssss…

Much blowing of dungchen (long horns), signing of petitions and a moving period of quiet reflection on the week’s events (while police helicopters hovered overhead because London’s still got the willies).

The Tibetans I spoke to were infectiously humble and friendly and politically charged without being pushy about independence after the Chinese invaded. Some weren’t even born in their home country but hope to die on their home soil one day, which seems to be the exact opposite of a lot of English people.

It was just what I needed and interesting for the kids too. My three year old daughter made me chuckle during the ceremony when she whispered: “Are they going to bring the cake out now?”

Son, 5, thought the Tashi Lhunpo monks were dressed as chickens because of the crests on their headdresses.

Son (while devotees prostrate before the picture of the Dalai Lama ): “Who is the man in the photograph?”
Me: “He’s …um.” (What will he understand? Spiritual leader of the Tibetan people? Head of the Government-in-Exile? The 14th reincarnation of the Boddhisattva of Compassion? Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize?)
Me: … umm… er….
Wife: He’s a friend of Buddha.
Son: Oh, ok.

And I laughed my socks off, realising the whole lesson of beginner’s mind. Right there, he understood more than me, because the basic truths are always more important than the peripheral stuff. In life, in your mind, in your relationships - it should always be about what it is rather than what it means. Sometimes the more you learn, the less you understand.

So never forget the innocence of your first enquiry. The informality and fresh attitude that includes both doubt and possibility will always help you to see things fresh and new.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 10th, 2005 at 9:05 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed, or leave a comment yourself.