My Spiritual Journey
Search in google:
The world knows the public face of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.We have read about his near escape from Tibet after the Chinese invasion, his nobel Peace Prize, and his friendships with world leaders, Hollywood actors, and scientists around the world. But what are his inner, personal thoughts on his own spiritual life? For the first time and in his own words, the Dalai Lama charts his spiritual journey from his boyhood days in rural Tibet to his years as a monk in the capital city of Dharamsala, to his life in exile as a world leader and symbol of peace.My Spiritual Journey provides a vivid and moving portrait of the Dalai Lama’s life journey that is personal in tone but universal in scope. He explores three phases or commitments of his spiritual life—as a human being, as a Buddhist monk, and as the Dalai Lama—each of which has made him more dedicated to exploring and teaching human values and inner happiness, promoting harmony among all religions, and advocating for the civil rights and well-being of the Tibetan people.At the age of two, little Tenzin Gyatso was identified as the fourteenth reincarnation of the first Dalai Lama. From then on, his life has been on a trajectory few can imagine. Some see him as a living Buddha and moral authority, others identify him as a “god-king,” while still others see him in political terms as either a hero or a counterrevolutionary. In My Spiritual Journey, we see the personal struggles, the courage, the laughter, and the compassion that have defined the remarkable life of one of our world’s greatest living legends.
Foreword: Listening to the Dalai Lama's Appeal to the World Sofia Stril-Rever Stril-Rever, SofiaMy Three Commitments in Life 1Part One As a Human Being1 Our Common Humanity 5I Am No One Special 7I am just a human being 7In our blood, a vital need for affection 8My mother, a compassionate woman 11It's time to think in human terms 12Every person we meet is our brother or sister 13Loving-kindness, the condition of our survival 14I pray for a more loving human family 15We are all alike 16Until My Last Breath, I Will Practice Compassion 18What do we mean by "compassion"? 18True compassion is universal 20The power of compassion 21I am a professional laugher 23I am a devoted servant of compassion 25Compassion, path of my happiness 26I love the smile, unique to humans 282 My Lives Without Beginning or End 31I Rejoice at Being the Son of Simple Farmers 35My everyday life 35I was born on the fifth day of the fifth month 37I can see into the humblest souls 39My parents never thought I might be the Fourteenth Dalai Lama 41I recognize my rosary 42I successfully pass the tests of remembering my previous life 44My Childhood in Lhasa 46I climb up into the Lion Throne 46I find my teeth 48Childhood memories 49I indulge in illegal treats 50I almost looked like Moshe Dayan! 53My Reincarnation Lineage 55I am summoned to become the Dalai Lama to serve others 55The Tibetans will decide if they want a Fifteenth Dalai Lama 58My Dalailamaship 60Why shouldn't a very beautiful woman be my next incarnation? 62We are without beginning or end 65I could reincarnate in the form of an insect 66Part Two As a Buddhist Monk3 Transforming Oneself 73My Ideal: The Bodhisattva 75My identity as a monk 75My monk's vows 76The daily meditations of a Buddhist monk 77Living as a bodhisattva 79Spiritual practice in order to become better human beings 80Temples of Kindness in Our Hearts 82Toward brotherly exchanges between religions 82Politicians need religion more than hermits 83My pilgrimages, from Lourdes to Jerusalem 84A life of contemplation on love 86Temples inside 87Transforming Our Minds 88Analysis of the mind as a preliminary to spiritual practice 88Impermanence and interdependence, or seeing the world as it is 90Transforming our mind on the Buddha's path 93Actualizing our potential 96Training our emotional life 1004 Transforming the World 103I Call for a Spiritual Revolution 105We can do without religion, but not without spirituality 105Spiritual revolution and ethical revolution 106The sickness of duality 107The disregard of interdependence by Westerners 108I Do Not Believe in Idelogies 109Humanity is one 109Interdependence is a law of nature 111A sense of responsibility is born from compassion 112War is an anachronism 115Everyone must assume a share of universal responsibility 117My Dialogue with the Sciences 119Why is a Buddhist monk interested in science? 119Humanity is at a crossroads 123Ethics in the sciences to save life 126The tragedy of September 11, 2001, taught me that we must not separate ethics from progress 1295 Taking Care of the Earth 133Our Ecological Responsibility 135As a child, I learned form my teachers to take care of the environment 135The Tibet of my childhood, paradise of wildlife 139In Tibet the mountains have become bold as monks' heads 141Reflections of a Buddhist monk on our ecological responsibility 145Our Planet is One World 151The Buddha in the Green Party! 151Human rights and the environment 152Mind, heart, and environment 154Taking care of the Earth 156Interdependence as seen from space 158Part Three As the Dalai Lama6 In 1959 the Dalai Lama Meets the World 163I Was the Only One Who Could Win Unanimous Support 165At sixteen, I become the temporal leader of Tibet 165We wrongly believed that isolation would guarantee us peace 168I endorse the Kashag's appeal to the United Nations 172The motherland, a shameless lie 174Mao's personality impressed me 176March 10, 1959, a day of insurrection in Lhasa 178My Children, You Are the Future of Tibet 180Forced exile 180My Priority is stopping the bloodshed 183Children of hope 185I am a proponent of secular democracy 188Liberty, equality, and fratenity are also Buddhist principles 190I love the image of swords transformed into plowshares 192Human beings prefer the way of peace 194What would Gandhi have done in my place? 1977 I Appeal to All the Peoples of the World 199I Denounce the Sinicization of Tibet 201I ask the world not to forget that thousands of Tibetans were massacred 201In the name of humanity, I appeal to all the peoples of the world 206The Han-ification campaign in Tibet 209Five hundred Tibetans perished while fleeing their occupied country 212Tibet, Sanctuary of Peace for the World 218My people's contribution to world peace 218I propose that Tibet become a sanctuary of ahimsa for the world 224In the name of the spiritual heritage of my people 227My weapons are truth, courage, and determination 233Tibet is still suffering from flagrant, unimaginable human rights violations 239In China, I see that change is on the way 246To all my spiritual brothers and sisters in China 252Conclusion: I Place My Hope in the Human Heart 257We Can Only Live in Hope 259Afterword: Winning Peace with the Dalai Lama Sofia Stril-Rever Stril-Rever, Sofia 263Notes 267Bibliography 272The Dalai Lama's Annual Speech to Commemorate the March 10, 1959, Lhasa Insurrection 275The Kalachakra Mandala 280Index 281
