The Dalai Lama's Difficult Teachings

From Tikkun:

The Dalai Lama’s Difficult Teachingsby: Dave Belden on October 10th, 2010

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A favorite photo of two of our favorite people: the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. Vancouver, Canada, 2004. Credit: Carey Linde.

I was surprised when a friend told me that the well known American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron’s talk this week in a 3,000 seat Bay Area venue is sold out, considering that it’s the same week when the Dalai Lama is teaching in the area for four days, including at a sold-out 11,000 seat venue. (You can get virtual participation in Chodron’s event via live-stream video.)



The Silicon Valley newspaper the Mercury News reports:



..the Bay Area appears eager to listen. Already rich in Buddhist traditions from Japan, Vietnam and other Asian countries, the region has become a mecca for religious thinkers of other faiths who are blending Buddhist traditions with their own, as well as a beachhead for the fledgling “interfaith movement.”



I know a lot of people who are blending elements of Buddhism into their lives, without ever saying “I am a Buddhist.”



“Interfaith” is a difficult concept, because it requires a different relationship with one’s own religion, quite apart from other religions:

As the Dalai Lama sees it, today’s global reality requires us to accept two premises: First, that no one religion can meet all of humanity’s needs. Even if we can’t accept another religion’s specific beliefs, we should respect the right of others to hold those beliefs for themselves. Second, this basic acceptance requires a spirit of compassion, which he believes forms the ethical heart of all religions.



Naturally there is resistance to this:



Ravi Kaw has taught Hindu Sunday school for 25 years at the Chinmaya Mission in East San Jose. Given the Bay Area’s religious diversity and a relatively well-educated population, he said the Dalai Lama’s message will get across without much argument. But he did mention a religious cleric he knows who refused Kaw’s invitation to attend the Dalai Lama’s teaching in San Jose.



“He said his religion is the only religion and that’s that,” Kaw recalled. “He did not understand that we are not here to convert, but to help you clear your doubts about your own faith and gain more understanding about the other’s faith.”



Guess who else will be there:



One of the invited speakers is Rabbi Michael Lerner, founder of Tikkun Magazine, which explores the centrality of religion in everyday life and politics.



“He is the greatest living exponent of non-violence and inter-community caring and love,” Lerner said about the Dalia Lama. “In a way, I wish Congress were forced to be in that room.”



Amen.