دار بيبليون
Security Library/Amen (Security) Magazine September 2024
“The Path of Wisdom, the Path of Peace: How the Dalai Lama Thinks”, Aricle by Prof. Dr. Lwiis Saliba
1-“The Path of Wisdom, the Path of Peace”
“The Path of Wisdom, the Path of Peace: How the Dalai Lama Thinks”, a book that includes a collection of interviews with the Dalai Lama conducted by the writer Felizitas von Schönborn, translated by Latifa Al-Dulaimi, published by Dar Al-Mada in Beirut, in 143 pages.
The Dalai Lama is a prominent intellectual and religious figure. He is one of the most famous spiritual figures today, and one of the most prominent advocates of nonviolence and those working for it in our time. In this field, he followed the path of Mahatma Gandhi, and insisted on this path to liberate his country, Tibet, from occupation! When asked about the distinctive things that make him different from Gandhi, he smiled and simply said: “We both wear different glasses.” (p. 24). This means that he does not distinguish deeply between the two paths. The Dalai Lama continues, emphasizing his discipleship of the Indian leader, saying (p. 133): “I feel particularly indebted to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.”
Violence is regressive in nature, and it leads the individual and peoples in general into a vicious and endless cycle of action and reaction. In this regard, the Dalai Lama continues (p. 134): “Some things can be achieved in the short term through violence, but if we look at things from a long-term perspective, we will see that everything will become more complicated due to violence, and this is why I am committed with all my energy to nonviolent resistance.”
Violence, whose primary source is anger, is a sign of weakness, not evidence of strength. When it controls a person, it controls him and his behavior in word and deed. In this regard, the Dalai Lama explains and justifies his choice of nonviolent struggle (p. 125): “If I allow myself to be overwhelmed by anger and unbridled violence towards the Chinese, this will not be a sign of strength for me, and will ultimately lead to the loss of my precious inner peace.” Inner peace is the treasure of treasures, and one should never give it up for any reason. This is what most sages have taught throughout the ages, and the Dalai Lama is one of them. He knows this golden rule and is fully aware of the importance of working by it. No matter how dangerous external enemies are, internal enemies remain the most ferocious and dangerous, and maintaining inner peace remains the most powerful weapon in this field. His Holiness affirms (p. 126): “Our real enemies in this life are our own bad thoughts. We may succeed in distancing ourselves from external enemies, but hatred and anger remain rooted within us even if we close the doors in their face.” The Dalai Lama goes on to explain (126-127): “External aggressive events may pass and quickly sink into the sea of oblivion, but the enemies that dwell deep within, such as anger and hatred, will remain where they are. This is true of every human being: I am my own worst enemy when I have tendencies of hatred and aspiration to possess many things. If we look at the whole picture, we will be certain that our real enemy, who does not cease to stir up trouble for us, is coexisting with us all the time.” The greed to which His Holiness refers remains the most prominent tendency of aggression and violence towards others. It is not possible for a person to defuse the violence burning within him and around him except by extinguishing the burning flame of greed and gluttony in himself and in society. His Holiness confirms (p. 124): “Greed, that deep-seated desire to possess something, is the most important thing that drives us to be aggressive and endlessly hostile towards other human beings. The truth is that greed is the root of all our aggressive actions, similar to the actions of wars between conflicting nations.” The main antidote that can neutralize the effects of the poisons of violence and the woes of wars between countries and peoples remains dialogue, and the Dalai Lama sees it as a first priority that is more important than even the call to his faith, convictions and principles of non-violence. He says (p. 71): “It seems to me, especially in our day, that the most important thing in the first place is not spreading the call to our Buddhist beliefs, but I see that interfaith dialogue is the most important thing in fact.” Interfaith dialogue is more important than calling for and preaching my religion. It is an extremely important and influential equation, the foundations of which are laid by the Dalai Lama. If a number of spiritual leaders shared his firm conviction and worked towards it, humanity would have witnessed a new era in its history marked by the beginning of the decline of religious violence. His Holiness shows keen insight in his approach to the causes and roots of this violence, and sees the transformation of religions into ideologies as the main generator of it. He says (p. 93): “The increase in fundamentalisms in all parts of the world is due to the fact that religions have become ideologies, in which the individual fights his opponents and seeks to consolidate his inflated sense of his own identity. If we truly want to dismantle the roots of this deadly phenomenon in the escalating fundamentalism, we must struggle to exchange our open and good religious experiences.” So, back to dialogue, and especially interfaith dialogue, as it is the key to resolving the widespread religious crises. The Dalai Lama testifies that openness to the different other and knowing him as he is and as he knows and defines himself is likely to erase nuclei, or at least limit them and the illusion of egocentrism, saying (p. 74): “When Tibet was still isolated from the world, we saw that our religion was the best religion in the world, but today, according to what the facts on the ground appear to be, I see that dialogue with other religions is an element of mutual enrichment between them all.” His Holiness recalls the rule according to which he now views religions (p. 70): “I have previously compared different religions to a different group of foods that suit the different needs and inclinations of people in different parts of the world.” The Dalai Lama goes further in simplifying, as he has often said and repeated something to the effect of: If you invite me to lunch in a restaurant, is it right for you to impose on me the meal or dish that you like?! Or would it be better for you to let me choose what I like, and you choose from the list what you like? And what harm is there in our choices being diverse and different according to our different tastes?! And so let us leave our choices to the spirit
Our religious and moral values differ according to our orientations, upbringing, and other personal and societal factors, without affecting the good relationship between us! In his dialogical view of Christianity, His Holiness includes Christ among the great teachers and sages of Buddhism, and he asserts (p. 77): “For us Buddhists, and on the mystical level, we see in particular that the religious teachers who sent their great blessings to countless numbers of people over many centuries are the Bodhisattvas, or the superior beings who attained absolute enlightenment, and Jesus is one of them.” The Dalai Lama recounts his experience in interacting, dialogue, and revealing commonalities with one of the great figures of contemporary Christian mysticism (p. 79): “I met the Catholic monk Thomas Merton in 1968 in Dharamsala shortly before his death. For me, I see him as a monk and a Buddhist spiritual teacher, Geshe, in Catholic clothes. I discovered during my long conversations with him that many things are common between Buddhism and Christianity, and it happened at later times that I met many Christians who radiated the same noble characteristics.” His Holiness offers golden advice to anyone who wants to change his religion (pp. 109-110): “If someone wants to abandon his old religion, this should not happen because of the enthusiasm of the newcomer, nor should it cause a serious break with the person’s original culture. The person concerned should continue to express his deep respect for the religious community of which he was a member, and should not try to isolate himself from it in a conscious and deliberate way.” This is a striking observation, and what we are witnessing is rather its complete opposite. Religious converts often attack their former religions and consider them the source of all their misery, which leaves them in a state of complete alienation and even conflict with the groups and societies in which they grew up. For new converts to Buddhism, he has advice in the same vein (p. 110): “Conversion to Buddhism is something that must be carefully and comprehensively studied and thought about. Spontaneous conversion has always proven to be difficult and can lead to serious emotional disturbances: change your consciousness, but leave your external appearance as it is.”
This means that the Dalai Lama is implicitly criticizing dramatic and superficial conversion of religion.
In conclusion, this little book is a precious masterpiece whose general title is the call for non-violence, dialogue, and harmony among peoples of different cultures and beliefs.