One thing about the Tibetans: they take their Buddhism very seriously and have done much to preserve it. While Buddhism is (seemingly) disappearing in most countries (including China and Japan) the Tibetans continue to cling to their religion. They deserve recognition for their commitment/effort…
Maybe they have done well to preserve "their form of buddhism," but as far as traditional Buddhist doctrine and practice goes, most tibetan forms of buddhism are far from the original Buddhas teachings and practice. This is of course just my opinion and experience. I have nothing out right wrong with tibetan buddhism or the dalai lama, but from the very start I've always felt a bit hesitant to embrace their tradition knowing much of the practice and doctrine was never actually taught by the buddha, and could easily become further distractions from the more simple, pure dhamma. As for the dalai lama, I don't sense that he's a pedophile, but he was certainly inappropriate and lacking in right speech and right actions in this instance. Although again, from the very start I've never even considered associating Buddhism with the Dalai Lama, he and most of the tibetan tradition is just too far removed from the basics with too many unnecessary "bells and whistles" added in for my taste. To each their own! Regardless of yours or anyone else's opinions on the matter, may you and any/everyone else be well and be full of love. Metta to all beings, all religions, all forms of buddhism, and metta to the dalai lama himself! May he learn from this experience and may it help nudge him further towards awakening and fulfilling his ultimate potential here and now in this life.
@@jahvarino1770 Well said, but we should keep in mind some younger people majoring in Buddhist Studies today are specializing in Tibetan language because the original scriptures (in Chinese, Sanskrit, etc.) have been lost and are only preserved in Tibetan. Also, it seems some purists who cling to “original” and “pure” Dhamma (i.e., the Pali canon) have a critical/skeptical view of Zen, even Soto Zen. It seems the same dismissive attitude toward Tibetan Buddhism can also be applied to Brad’s form of Zen from the Pali traditionalist perspective….(?) But I’m open to further discussion here…I suppose it comes down to what exactly one feels is “real” or “legitimate” Buddhism….
@@adamdacevedo Well the Pali Suttas and Chinese Agamas which I consider to be the oldest and closest to "authentic" or traditional Buddhism are in Pali and Chinese, not Tibetan. But anyways from my perspective Theravada is not the original Buddhism, nor is Zen, or any organized form of Buddhism at this point in time, but especially not Tibetan styles of Buddhism. Much of the tibetan traditions are completely foreign to the original teachings/practice of the Buddha. Also I've never understood zen people who don't get theravada, and I've never understood Theravadins who don't get zen. I think the most authentic buddhism lies somewhere in between theravada and zen, and I see both systems as complimentary to each other. It's when one gets hyper-orthodox with any one system that they begin to stray further from the Buddhas original way, and Theravada definitely can be guilty of this.
They sound like the Somalis of Buddhism. Despite wars, despite displacement, they some how keep the Islamic tradition alive more than any other people, including the Arabs. It's as if Islam has become apart of Somalian identity, and wherever the Somali goes, the Islam goes with him. Tibetan identity must be like that with Buddhism.
@@MrResearcher122 I would be hesitant to push that analogy too far. Particularly because tibetan buddhism is just that, tibetan buddhism. The buddhism youll see in other countries/cultures can be drastically different, being from a different tradition, and that's been preserved very well in these other cultures, but not so much in tibetan culture. So anyways Buddhist history and preservation of buddhist doctrine/practice may be a little more complicated than you're making it out to be in that comparison with Somali Muslims.
"What does the Dalai Lama know about Buddhism?" He was taught at the best school for Buddhism in Tibet. His degree would be similar to a Doctorate of Divinity degree from a Catholic Seminary. What does the Dalai Lama know about Buddhism? He is LITERALLY an expert at his form of Buddhism.
I studied Buddhism for around 15 years. Tibetan Buddhism was my gateway of sorts, from Catholicism into the Buddha-dharma. I moved on to the exploration of other sects and traditions -- mainly Shingon, but also Pure Land, Nichiren, and Theravada -- and I have to say my opinion of the DL was similar to yours. People think of him as the head of all Buddhism, when really he never had much relevance to my own studies and practice. Apropos of nothing, I noticed Eric Tamm's book on Robert Fripp on your bookshelf. I'm a King Crimson fan and own that one as well. Cheers.
I’ve asked around and “eat the tongue” is a better translation from the Tibetan expression. It implies nothing sexual and it’s an expression that originally came from Tibetan mothers mouth feeding their children. They would chew the food for the babies, this would be their baby food. “You’re still hungry? Then eat the tongue!” But now it’s an expression used by Tibetans of an older generation to be playful with children.
I'm a Tibetan translator who has lived 17 years in India and Nepal among exile Tibetans. Here is what you need to know: In Tibetan culture, it is common to see the old grandparents not only give a pop kiss to the small children, but also give a small candy or piece of food to children from their mouths - directly mouth to mouth. This may not be the norm of your culture, but this is commonly done. After the elder gives a pop kiss and a candy, since there is nothing left in their mouth, nothing left to give, they will say the phrase "Ok, now 'eat my tongue"" (not 'suck,' as His Holiness misspoke due to his less proficient English). The Tibetan "I've given you all my love and the candy so that's it -all that's left to do is eat my tongue." And it is a playful thing that the children know. This is not really done in the Lhasa region (capital of Tibet) so much, but it is more common in the Amdo region (where HH is from).
Only problem is, the child wasn't Tibetan and wouldn't have understood the gesture, and there was no giving of candy involved. The Dalai Lama has been in the public eye his entire life. Even if this were a cultural expression, he should have known how it would have been interpreted on the world stage.
@@HardcoreZen Yes. Actually i really appreciate you trying to take a fair stance here and clarify things. Which you did well. Thank you. It does matter.
@@3ggshe11s True. I think the same. It was very unfortunate he didn't take more care here. Maybe since he doesn't read socal media, he has no idea how charged that whole issue of sexual child abuse is in the west? I wonder... just wanted to give some extra information to see this in perspective. BTW, the (I think, Indian) mother of the boy already posted a video on FB saying the Dalai Lama's behavior didn't disturb (much less traumatized) her child at all... In general, while Tibetans and Indians as well are very conservative when it comes to sex relationships, they are quite natural with their bodies, and many things that are considered shameful or inappropriate in our culture are definitely not shameful or even considered sexual over there.
I would include them as well. They're mostly political figures, as far as I can see. Maybe not "politicians" as such, since that tends to mean people who are appointed to positions in government. But they're political professionals for the most part and religious people secondarily.
Tibetan Buddhist here. In addition to what you mentioned, the Dalai Lama is also regarded as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. (No eyes, no ears, no nose, no...tongue?) I do revere him, so obviously I'm biased but he's literally been groomed since boyhood not only to be a political leader but scholar. He's had all the best teachers and is very knowledgeable possessing what would be the equivalent of a phd. He has also written and a lot of books on Buddhism. I just find the whole thing sad. Abuse does happen in monastic settings but my gut says this isn't it. If you watch the Dalai Lama, a lot of his interactions are weird, Desmond Tutu, Lady Gaga etc. There might be some cultural thing with tongues. I know when I was in Nepal I picked up a little habit of sticking my tongue out - but certainly not asking anyone to suck it!! Am I the only person who finds that old people can be inappropriate and gross? That could just be what we're seeing here. I couldn't help but notice all the masks in the background while they're playing tongue-sy adding to my confusion. It's sad to see so many people whipped up about it. It's sad that this might be his legacy if he does die soon. But I think he'll bounce back. The Dalai Lama always seems to be getting people upset. Remember when he said that refugees should try to return to their homeland when it is safe to do so. He said that he might reincarnate as a woman (but a beautiful one - not an ugly one. Most recently, probably to stick it to the Chinese, he said he wasn't going to reincarnate at all. I like that about him.
As someone who is watching the elder generation of my family slide into old age I can attest that they start getting really off kilter and yeah, sometimes even gross. I’ve seen a clip by a man who stated he was Tibetan explaining some cultural relevance to what he did
🙄 methinks thou art too immersed in the cult . He’s a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ type whose celebrity status is part of an exceptionally lucrative and duplicitous multi billion dollar operation . Amazing how these guru types r never truly grilled ab their hypocrisy .
So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald… striking. So, I’m on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga… gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, “Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.” So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.
I just want to say from what I have studied (Doing my Master's Degree in Buddhist Studies) is that the Dalai Lama has to obtain what is known as a Geshe Degree. The Geshe Degree is basically a PhD in Buddhist philosophy from the Tibetan perspective of course and takes about 20 years to complete. The Dalai Lama (who is the head of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism) has to then go on to study Tantric philosophy as well. I'm not commenting on this as a "gotcha" but respectfully only because in the video you said that the Dalai Lama doesn't know much about Buddhism.
OK. I accept that he has studied Buddhism from an academic perspective. Still, I'm not all that interested in academic Buddhism. Sometimes I am. But he doesn't seem to me to be one of the best sources even of academic Buddhism.
@@HardcoreZen When it comes to Mahayana Buddhism he is. There are many very long treatises about various Buddhist paths and methods and he does a very good job of condensing it for lay readers.
Fair play if you do not really care about the Dalai Lama, or what he has to say about Buddhism. But he is a monk who is an expert in all aspects of the Gelug school and Tibetan Buddhism on the whole. Saying the Dalai lama doesn't know anything about Buddhism is like saying that a PHD in Buddhist studies doesn't know anything about Buddhism. If you think that his former position as the political leader of the Tibetan people in exile effects his teaching of Buddhism. That would be a fair opinion. I enjoy your books and his. It's not that big of a deal. Just putting it out there.
I'm given to understand he's publicly seriously speculated about actually refraining from reincarnating to his 15th, to short-circuit the Chinese usurpation. Clever.
If I remember right, the state-oracle had already foretold in the 1930/40ies that there would be no 15th Dalai Lama (or "Wishfullfilling Juwel"). Well, we like our exotisms, don´t we? And it even works both ways, just as the saying goes (exact wording?): "The grass is always greener over there!"
@Hardcore Zen Brad I see you have Autobiography of a Yogi in the back. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on that book. It's a book that shows up in the most interesting places!
I enjoyed it when I read it at age 18 or so. I haven't read it since. I bought that copy because there's a photo of Peter Tork of the Monkees reading that out-of-print edition of the book and I found it at a used bookstore last week. Looking at it now, it seems like a period piece. The writing seems very much 19th century Victorian Era style (even though it was written in the 20th century). What I recall of the book was that it was full of a lot of magical-sounding stories with people doing all sorts of miracles. I'm not sure how valuable such stories are. But they can be fun to read. Yogananda seems to have been a very sincere man. But, then again, he was also very ambitious and seems to have courted fame and wealth. He was probably one of those people who claimed he had no material possessions of his own and yet somehow had access to a lot of possessions that were not technically his (at least on paper).
A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused. His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.
I am a Tibetan Buddhist, but I don't personally much care about Dalai Lama. I see him as a political figure. With this current incident, I just don't know what to think. Poor boy. And whoever we blame, Tibetan exile community will also be hurt regardless.
Is the order the Dalai Lama belongs to the largest Tibetan Buddhist order? Why are they regarded as so important? Is the order that the Dalai Lama belongs to comparable to something like Catholicism in the sense that one could argue that Catholicism is the oldest and most well-established of the many Christian denominations (I'm sure even this could be challenged)?
@@HardcoreZen I think the Dalai Lama really is mostly important as a political figure. Tibet had kings/ emperors in the middle ages but the 5th Dalai Lama became the political leader of Tibet in the 1600s, I think with the support of one of the first Qing emperors who was into tantra. Technically, he isn't even the leader of his own specific school of Tibetan buddhism (another Lama is). Obviously he is an important figure in Tibetan buddhism, a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, so no offense to the people who revere him, but I think non Tibetan buddhists can criticize him if they want. And the Western perception that he is the pope of Buddhism is so off.
@@HardcoreZen I think the response above is good. Just to clarify why I don't in religious sense much care about Dalai Lama. 1. I practice within Nyingma tradition. There only lamas who really matter are who you directly connect with in person and through lineage. Dalai Lama is simply far outside of that. 2. I just don't find most what he says that interesting. There are simply much more profound teachers in Tibetan Buddhism: those people truly dedicate their life to practice and teaching.
So curious as to why you’re interested in Soto Zen and Dogen! 😝 I’m a former Tibetan Buddhist myself, but haven’t identified as such or followed the teachings for years now.
I certainly appreciate and respect your opinion on this matter. I do disagree somewhat that he is just a politician/political leader. He has the reputation as moral leader whose positions on peace and justice are informed by the moral precepts of Buddhism. Likewise, Martin Luther King, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Thomas Merton's moral standing were informed by Christianity. It would be sad if they were dismissed as being " simply politicians". Perhaps the Dali Lama is past his prime and his age is showing.
It's possible. Some people have speculated about that. It does seem like a weird thing to do. Or maybe he doesn't interact with kids very much? I don't know...
Tibetan culture is completely different from ours. Almost positive, there are many things in our culture that cause as much astonishment to Tibetans as we have been astonished while watching the video clip of the Dalai Lama.
Tibetan culture is not completely different. It is still part of "humanity" (ok, sounds a bit pathetic, sorry). I had the chance to talk with Colin Goldner, who has been several times to Tibet (Xizàng Aut. Reg.). He´s very erudite, and rather an univeralist, and seems to be very critical of every primary/secondary "orientalism" (F. Said) - and so am I. Well, even the famous "orientalist pioneer" Alexandra David-Neel was not very amused, when some "pilgrims" developed the idea of eating her in order to partake of the spiritual powers she was said to possess. She only survived this episode by being able to convince her opponents that their "magicology" was flawed, because... (please read the story for Yourself, it´s been some time, can´t remember the details exactly). And that´s only one example of strange customs here, there, and everywhere, where I would say: They can and should be critisized. Tolerance and mutual understanding may be virtues, but they should not "derail" into indifference, my opinion.
@@gunterappoldt3037 ; Let’s focus in the Dalai Lama topic first. I first heard about Dalai video while online listening to a dharma talk by a Tibetan Teacher. I was too engrossed listening to Lama Teacher and disconnect the chat with angry people talking about The Dalai Lama. The following day as some Channel commentators kept demanding for explanations to the Spanish Tibetan Website and some comments were a little bit aggressive while others out of place, I wrote the same comment as in Brad Channel. Someone somehow alleviated by my comment responded: “It didn’t stupefy me personally, but it’s just as you say. Tibetans are already explaining it, and also viral video spread all over internet has editing details on it, Chinese propaganda. There was a recent event that seems to be justifying the propaganda” I replied back; “To me the viral video clip caused me stupor and disgust. This was not only because I am from a Western culture but also because ever since I was a baby I was horrified when adults (other than my parents) approached me, touched my cheeks and kissed. As a baby their faces seemed gigantic to me and their breath all over me disgusting” Why I am re-writing all this?. Because I’d like to give you image that have an open mind towards other culture it doesn’t mean in any way to take or accept in one the whereabouts of that culture. It doesn’t mean either to impose our Western cultural, social ways over any other culture.
Lol I asked you about your thoughts on the Dalai Lama when you came to Ventura College to talk with Kevin’s philosophy club in like 2009. You said you didn’t really know much about him because zen is very different. It was such an ignorant question but I went on to study East Asian Buddhism at UCSB and understands much more now.
I was first introduced to Buddhism at UCSB around 2011ish. I was a comm major and took a Chinese Buddhism class taught by William Powell just because I needed credits and it had seats available. It was my favorite course I took in college and obviously had quite the impact as I'm still engaging with Buddhism all these years later. Did you happen to take any classes with him/know what he is up to now?
@@ImStuckInStockton Yes! Powell was my favorite professor. I took quite a few of his classes and he even wrote me a rec for the JET program. He was professor emeritus for a while but I think he finally retired and moved to the mountains at the end of 2012. He was giving away a lot of the stuff in his office. I got a Gary Snyder book and some posters from him but I don't keep in touch. We were probably in the same class.
Seems to me that the opposite is true: the Dalai Lama is a committed Buddhist monk/scholar/teacher that was *forced* to become a “politician” because his country was invaded by a much larger, more powerful country…thus the famous escape into exile…
The position of the Dalai Lama was of political character from the beginning, when it was installed by the Mongols about 450 years ago. In fact, the spiritual head of the Gelugpa, nominally, should be the Panchen-Lama.
@@gunterappoldt3037 Yes, but why the Geshe degree for the current Dalai Lama? Seems unnecessary for a political role…plenty of kings/princes/leaders down through history have ruled without having religious training… The conclusion seems to me to be that the Dalai Lama (especially the current one) is BOTH a politician/statesman AND a religious teacher….perhaps 50/50 monk and statesman. Although I believe he made the decision a few years ago, asking to retire from politics and function “only” as a spiritual teacher, but I don’t recall the details surrounding the announcement…but prior to that his day started with meditation and spiritual practice/study but then segued into more secular activities. His speeches around the world also seemed sometimes to be spiritual and other times purely political…
@@adamdacevedo For one, more in general, the seperation between "state" und "church" was often not very clear in old societies. For example, who was originally the "Pontifex maximus" in Rome? It was the "august" Emperor. Similarly, on the other side of the Eurasian continent, the "Heaven´s Master/Son" (天子) also held important "religiousl" obligations, e.g., he had to keep the state-ritual, centered around ancestor-worship, going, and so forth. In the Himalayan region, things went very similar, more or less, I would say. What my argument was meant to convey, is this: The "institution" of the Dalai Lama had first of all political character. Therefore, the term "God-King", coined by Western scholars, I guess, may not be totally correct, yet still shed some light upon the core socio-political function of this institution - whereby the person of the DL often, seemingly, in reality was not the one who really held the power. Well, I did some studies on the history of Tibet, and the situation even just regarding the two core-provinces "Zang" and "U" was often complicated, as there were also local feudal powers (e.g., notoriously the Khampa in the "wild East"), and central nobility in Lhasa-City, .... and they all had to somehow go along with each other, for the better or worse, and it was not always very peacefully, things went, as already mentioned. As I have read Heinrich Harrer´s "Sieben Jahre in Tibet", as well as the first autobiography of the current Dalai Lama, - but also critical studies, like the one published by Colin Goldner, - I may say, I aquired some basic knowledge regarding the c.v. of the actual "God-King", now seemingly partly in retirement. Sure, I agreee, he was and is a "cleric", too, and was trained in the "Buddhist world-view" (the Lamaistic style in the Gelukpa-version, that is) ever since he entered the Potala as a young child, too (e.g., he learned reading and writing, and most Tibetan literature - maybe even over 90% - is of "clerical" character; now you connect the points: What kind of literature could he positively mainly have read?). Nevertheless, his main occupation always was, so to speak, the personal/symbolic/ritual representation of the central (provincial) government. However, in fact, regarding political matters, he seemingly had not much of a say and functioned mainly as a "pawn in the game" in the hands of advisors, politicians, "grey eminences", and so forth. In "spiritual" matters, he seems to me still rather "old (premodern) school", although he also tried to proof that Buddhism was "science in the strict sense" (to paraphrase E. Husserl), which however can/should be debated controversely. Anyway, with the years the scene changed in parts dramatically: Modern sciences, i.e. archaeology, philology, Buddhology, psychology, and so forth, have dis- and uncovered new data, which shed quite new light on many aspects of the World of Buddhism - and "debunked" several "myths". I´m not sure, what role the current Dalai Lama plays in matters of Buddhist Learning and Modernism. As mentioned, some propositions seem rather "old school", and a bit obsolete, in ligth of newer studies and insights. But that´s just my personal view. That´s about the way I´d provisionally describe the "political sociology" of the Dalai Lama as a person, and as an institution, in a few words. I hope that helped for some clarification. -Regards
As you've seen from other commenters the Dalai Lama definitely knows about Buddhism. Lamas higher up in the hierarchy like the Dalai Lama have to go through rigorous academic training starting in their youth. The Dalai Lama often teaches from Nagarjunas works. Many Zen traditions claim Nagarjuna as an Indian patriarch in their lineages. Whether they have spiritual realization or not is up for debate.
What I don’t understand is: how can you Brad say that the Dalai Lama doesn’t know much about Buddhism when you also say that you don’t know much about the Dalai Lama? For the rest, I enjoy your videos.
I just don’t see any evidence that he has anything to teach me about Buddhism. I’ve thumbed through his books now and then. I’ve watched a few talks by him. They’re just not interesting at all to me. Lots of nominally Buddhist authors and celebrities are not interesting to me and the Dalai Lama is one of them.
@@HardcoreZen I agree with you Brad but to me the fact that I feel he doesn’t have anything to teach me in terms of Buddhism, doesn’t necessarily mean that he doesn’t know much about it. That said I must admit that you have been so far really inspiring to me with your videos. Thanks for your answer.
@@sergiomura1613 @Hardcore Zen - I agree with this. Just because I don't like Dimentia 13 and your music doesn't appeal to me or grip me doesn't mean you haven't played bass for years and have skill. Being a Zen Buddhist, you might find what he says uninteresting and basic. But this person is trying to speak to people from all walks of life and from his own context. Some people might not find your work appealing Brad, but their opinion doesn't change your profound commitmtent and work. Taste is not a basis for assessing a person's experience and knowledge.
This is really a case of two different cultures not understanding each other. In Tibetan custom grand parents commonly make the joke to "eat my tongue" as the as the grandparent has given everything and now the only thing left is for the child to eat the tongue. The Dalai Lama miss translated "Eat" in Tibetan to "suck" in English. Additionally, showing and sticking out ones tongue is a sign of respect in Tibetan culture.
Always a joy to hear your clear analyses. The part on Ben Shapiro however is too sharp as Ben is indeed (very) intelligent, regardless of what you think of his ideas. To me it feels like the polarisation in the US can even subtly be felt in this video which makes me a little sad from the perspective of the dharma. You do bring clarity and joy to my practice at the same time so I will definitely be back.
I've had friends contacting me for my thoughts on this because I "do that buddhism/zen stuff" and they assumed the Dalai Lama is someone we revere as a modern day Buddha. They are surprised when I explain that my only knowledge of him is from watching Seven Years in Tibet 😂 and I view him the way the average Catholic might view Jimmy Swaggart 🤷♀️
The average person doesn't know the different types of Buddhism. The incident with the boy went viral worldwide. Now all Buddhist monks are looked at as symbols of child abuse, like Catholic priests. Being that he is the most famous living Buddhist, this is probably the most negatively impactful event in Buddhist history. At the very least, hundreds of millions of people watched the video and disagreed with him forcibly kissing the child and asking the child to suck his tongue. Reading the comments on the videos with him kissing the kid You will read comments mocking Buddhism in general. Unfortunately, most people have no idea. The far-reaching consequences that will affect all of Buddhism now and in the future.
@Shaun Lindsey I have actually been surprised that I've only encountered 2 or 3 people outside of the Buddhist community that have seen or heard of the incident. No one in my social media has posted anything about it, none of my clients seem to be aware of it, and almost none of my friends or family are aware. Of the handful of people who did approach me, none jumped to any conclusions beyond it having been weird and unacceptable behaviour. But every type of person exists so yes, many will make assumptions and accusations. I, personally, am not forming much of an opinion on the matter. It didn't strike me as an intentional insidious violation as some are calling it, but it is hard to speculate what goes on in someone else's mind, especially through watching a short video clip. Either way, I am not attached to how it might affect his image or that of Buddhism in general. Tomorrow the media will have a new scandal for the world to focus on.
@@tinadeemc8728 You must have a small circle. Joe Roagan commented on the abuse of the boy. He has the most listened-to podcast in the world. Hundreds of millions of people have the same conclusion as me. An old man forcibly grabbing my child and kissing him on the lips would be unacceptable to me and a large portion of the world. I don't know anyone who hasn't heard about it. I did assume some of the older generations would not know what is going on. Thank you for commenting it shows my assumption was correct.
I am most interested in Kagyu Mahamudra when it comes to Tibetan Buddhism. Western practitioners/writers often mention the similarities to Zen. I would add specifically to Soto Zen in my opinion.
Both Mahamudra & Dzogchen in Tibetan Buddhism have a lot in common with Shikantaza in Soto Zen & Silent Illumination in Caodong Chan Buddhism. I like the living/evolving tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, but they seem a bit less open to discuss their practices than Zen & Chan practitioners. So as long as you can link up with a good teacher all will be well. Brad saying that he doesn’t think the Dalai Lama knows that much about Buddhism is a lot like a Baptist preacher saying that he doesn’t think the Pope knows that much about Christianity.
@@wilhelmmischief8416 Good point. There is always the danger of having a short sighted view! And it's not good to criticize leaders of other religious orders strictly in terms of one's own limited view of things (as Brad judged the Dalai Lama's understanding).
@@JimTempleman Max Weber critisized Catholisism´s "enchanted garden(s)". I sense, Brad would rather side with the "rational" attitude, Max Weber attributet to the Protestants/Puritans.
@@gunterappoldt3037 Max Weber, being a sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, was criticizing Catholisism from those perspectives (not from a religious perspective). The Dalai Lama represents an enormous tract of Tibetan Buddhism. Mahamudra & Dzogchen are included in that tract & are very similar to Dogan's (Rújìng's) Shikantaza. I don't think Brad knows much about Mahamudra & Dzogchen. I don't think Brad knows much about Tantric Buddhism either. . I don't think Brad ever met the Dalai Lama or read one of his more serious works. I don't think Brad needs to research such matters, but: Why Brad criticizes him based on a very superficial exposer to him is beyond me. The Dalai Lama bears the weight of a lot more responsibility than either one of Brad's former teachers One wonders how Brad would react to meeting "the real Dogen" in the flesh. But that's another matter entirely.
There's already cases of this tulku problem, yes. The most famous is the Karmapa, head of the Kagyu school, which has two recognised emanations, whose names I don't really remember. One of them is recognised by the Chinese government and interestingly by the Dalai Lama himself (who, as I heard, isn't really that important to the recognition process of the Karmapa lineage). The other one does not have much following, but it's said that the people who recognised him were people deeply connected with the previous Karmapa. Now, about the Dalai Lama importance, as some guy told us about below, he's one of the heads of the Gelug school, which is nowadays the most numerous sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He's a great scholar, which is something much valorised in Tibetan Buddhism, a lot more than in Zen, and he does retreats and concedes initiations or empowerments frequently. I know people who have aspirations of being direct students of him. So... I get your point about he being more political than spiritual, I really do, but he does know a lot about Buddhism. I'm a Tibetan Buddhist myself, although I often hear more dharma talks from theravadin and Zen folks than Tibetans, so I got shocked with this incident. I'm not related to the Gelug school, my affiliation is more inclinated to Nyingma, but as you may have noticed he's an important figure to a lot of Tibetan Buddhists in and outside his sect. It's indeed weird stuff, very weird stuff. Even if it is not pedophilic, it is kinda weird and I'm not able to enthusiasticly defend him as other folks are doing. But I'm glad you mentioned this possible connection with China. We can't really ignore anything, and China is as imperialistic and colonialist as any other major power in our current world situation. I even saw some people on twitter praising China for the absurd massacre promoted during their conquest of Tibet... There's always more truths than facts, it seems. I don't really know what to believe.
Thank you for the clarification about the Dalai Lama's role in Tibetan Buddhism. It's very confusing to outsiders! A lot of people think the Dalai Lama represents ALL of Buddhism.
@@HardcoreZen ok, now i start to understand your issue with the Dalai Lama. Yeah it's unfortunate that the public view of Buddhism is so lopsided and generally uninformed. But Buddhism is so vastly diverse that it is really hard to find some common ground in terms of how Buddhism as a whole should or could be represented to the general public.
I do agree with you , everybody talks about the dalai lama as a prominent figure but i thinks it is more political , he may have studied a lot of scholar buddhism but for me there are better teachers that i can relate to better , as you . Also tibetan buddhists are really weird not my tradition but still respect it.
@@johnjones99124 true , about the tibetan tradition i respect it as buddhism but i am not knowledgeable. my grain of sand is that i am interested in people who live a common life and study zen buddhsm as well as other traditions, i think we all have a lot to gain in that regard instead of listeling to a teacher who lives a comfortable life as a political refuge , who has a lot of scholar or acadermic knowledge, and that is fine as well , to each his own.
@@ricardolecca9843 ok lets just forget about Dalai Lama there so many people not only Tibetan but also westerner who do retreat for many years staying in the cave on the high mountains ,what you have to say about them are they living the luxurious life, are they foolish ?
My opinion on this whole thing is that even if you want to assume that the Dalai Lama was just trying to be playful and that there wasn't anything sexually perverted or weird like that which was intended I personally think that it seems to show a lack a foresight as well as poor judgement on the part of the Dalai Lama and the people who are involved with him.I personally think that the Dalai Lama and the people involved with this incident should have shown a little bit more awareness about how something like this might come across if the rest of the world got wind of this especially the west.
Nothing was acceptable about this example . NOTHING . The poor kid was placed in an extremely uncomfortable position & will not take away good memories from this awful encounter . DL should not be excused ....even the minders looked uncomfortable . If we excuse this obnoxious behaviour we endorse a creepy uncle , dad or neighbour saying they were just teasing when coaxing kids . He’s part of a multi billion dollar lucrative cult & thinks he is beyond reproach .
@@equatorialjourney4478 Exactly if anyone else did what he did. There would be no understanding. The person doing the act would be considered a child abuser.
I just have two cents to throw in and I will since I am a weigher-inner. He probably looks like a politician because that's the face you've seen. Others have commented on his training and I'd give him that much respect even if I assumed that he had no special talent. He couldn't be a Nisargadatta it wouldn't be effective. (I am also reminded of this kind of salt that I see among scientists and their colleagues). I spent just a little bit of time studying with Sasaki Roshi and most of the time he looked like an ordinary old man. Although one predawn morning during a sesshin at Mt. Baldy there was some ceremony. I glanced up at the Roshi for a second and he looked like that black statue of Huineng. A true patriarch carrying it with all seriousness. After seeing that I had a different kind of respect for him. Another thought about the mumbo-jumbo comment that may also relate to what the Dalai Lama may have been doing there. I think it's a Western bias that we have towards divinatory practices and the worldview that validates it. It's not linear causal so must be nonsense. Still stuck thinking that Newtonian physics is a gold standard and not a 350 years old first iterate model carrying assumptions. Yes, it still works well within its regime but doesn't cover everything right. Just suggesting the work of Pauli and Jung here where they study the relationship between psyche and matter and make a case for understanding meaningful coincidences. So moss on the tree can actually mean that he's over there, or the tarot card that actually fell is significant, and so forth. My understanding of the Tibetan style of Buddhism, from talks by Shinzen Young, is that it is strongly influenced by earlier shamanic practices including divination. So the thought I had was that he may have been giving some kind of transmission like 'magic' with the tongue. Insubstantial but symbolic but real nevertheless. Magical practices have been around for a long time. Or he is a creep, or just another flawed human being, or an old man from another culture, etc. I don't know. Also, I am reminded of something Shinzen has said at his retreats - the best kimchi has no smell at all. Thanks very much I enjoy the channel
The Dalai Lama is not just an academic Buddhist. He is a practicing Tibetan monk. For decades, he has been conducting multi-day initiations, practices and retreats of Tibetan Buddhism with monks and disciples. He is not only a political leader, he is also a spiritual teacher. Kind of like a Zen master in a Zen school. The story of Nishijima Roshi demonstrating his independence says more about Roshi's attitude than about the person of the Dalai Lama in any way xD
Or such a filthy scumbag he can't even keep his perversions behind closed doors, as well as having acknowledged he received $1.7m per year from the CIA and his association with Gerald Yorke, a personal friend and secretary to Aleister Crowley.
I dunno... There are some questions about his involvements with the CIA. Also some activities of the Tibetan government under his rule before the Chinese came in have been called highly unethical. I don't know the full truth. But all in all I don't find him a compelling spiritual leader.
@@HardcoreZen Tip: Colin Goldner´s critical studies on the Dalai Lama and Tibet. There should even be at least one presentation available on UA-cam, albeit, maybe only in German, but sometimes subtitles help.
As I understand this boy is Indian not Tibetan. To me the boy didn't seem to enjoy this interaction. Maybe he didn't know this kind of "tradition"/joke? For a person of political and religious importance I find this interaction still not to be appropriate...
Personally as Tibetan Buddhist myself I’m not going to be to freaked out about the incident, ya it’s strange, but I’ve seen a lot of elderly people get goofy with kids in my day. I think you my have a connection with the Chinese idea, they would love to have a reason bring him into bad light. I remember when I was dabbling in Zen Buddhism (Soto) in the late eighties there was something about a priest that got a little hands on with some kid. It lost its effectiveness pretty quickly. But there is an old saying in Buddhism “regret to humans is like wind to the birds “.🥰☸️
Just a thought, not particularly on this incident or even on the Dalai Lama, but on the difference in attitude between Zen Buddhism and Tibetan (and Theravada) Buddhism. In Zen we (for the most) honor, obey and respect our teachers and masters but they are still seen as humans. That makes them fair game for criticism. However, the Lamas are regarded as something more (else?) than human and seem more like Pope-like figures to the believers. And name me a Catholic who will not defend the Pope when he is "attacked"... Good work, Brad! In gassho, Kyo - Do
Those who put the Dalai Lama on a pedestal are now struggling with the thought that he might be into pederasty. The lesson is to not put anyone up that high. What goes up will come down. Teachers, gurus and tulkus might fall but the Dharma holds firm. It holds the sky up and is the ground that catches everyone when they fall.
In Tibetan culture, it is common to see the old grandparents not only give a pop kiss to the small children, but also give a small candy or piece of food to children from their mouths - directly mouth to mouth. This may not be the norm of your culture, but this is commonly done. After the elder gives a pop kiss and a candy, since there is nothing left in their mouth, nothing left to give, they will say the phrase "Ok, now 'eat my tongue"" (not 'suck,' as His Holiness misspoke due to his less proficient English). The Tibetan "I've given you all my love and the candy so that's it -all that's left to do is eat my tongue." And it is a playful thing that the children know. This is not really done in the Lhasa region (capital of Tibet) so much, but it is more common in the Amdo region (where HH is from).
Cardi B even chimed in on this issue. But the thing is she came out all guns blazing. The problem with that is she has a pretty questionable past and she 's "rachet" as all get out!
The Dalai Lama retired as political head in 2011. Just an FYI. Sticking out tongue in Indian culture is a thing-- not the tongue sucking, though. And, if ya don't really know &/or read much about the Dalai Lama & Tibetan Buddhism, maybe you should stick to that vow you took 3 years ago? Just sayin'... Btw, I often DO enjoy your books & videos, Brad.
The Dalai Lama has had a path laid out by the times and circumstances - more a political leader than a great theologian. If he is a boddhisatva, then that path is his karma to work through. I've tried to read and feel the Tibetan schools, and just can't. Too much mysticism, baggage, and sheer density of words and text. It gets in the way. Tibetan interpretations of the Heart Sutra, for example, are like turning sonnets into detailed manuals. They are didactic and rigid, to my mind. I have huge respect for Thich Nhat Hanh. His writing and representation of mind seem both incisive and subtle. Music rec: Thee Hypnotics - Soul Trader
First of all, I am not a Tibetan Buddhist or a Dalai Lama fanboy (I actually prefer Chan and Zen, although I like Dzogchen). Second, with all due respect (I have bought several of your books and regularly watch your videos), do your reputation a favor and please don't talk about things you don't personally know about. Tibetan Buddhism is a combination of what in Japanese Buddhism is Tiantai, Mikkyō, and Zen (although the degree of depth of meditation is closer to Chan's Silent Illumination, which has more steps than Shikantaza). The education he received would not have been just theoretical, academic study of the above. Tibetan monks receive very rigorous education on all levels, from theory to practice: much deeper and wider and more involved than I've seen in Zen. Dalai Lama wrote many books and have given many oral lessons (some recorded on UA-cam) on Dzogchen and Mahamudra and obviously practices daily (you can look up his daily regimen). And have been doing so for a long time. You should look Dzogchen and Mahamudra up by the way: they are pretty close to Zen (and likewise position themselves as the new evolution of Mahayana). Tibetan Buddhism is not all "visualize weird stuff with your eyes closed". He also wrote many books on the interface of Buddhism and science, culture, etc. Which one may or may not be a fan of. Tibetan Buddhism may not be your cup of tea and you may resent what you believe is unearned and disproportionate level of fame DL has, but to say he doesn't know much about Buddhism and is merely a political puppet is just stupid. Having said that, he's definitely also a political figure, a religious figure (like the Pope), and a "telku", which is all weird and creates an opportunity for corruption. And this incident was definitely fucked up.
So that’s why you didn’t respond to my email from a month ago? 😂 First, former Tibetan Buddhist here … been (Soto) Zen now for 5 years … saw the Dalai Lama twice, and made pilgrimages to Nepal and India. First, he knows a lot about Buddhism and was pretty much forced into being a political figure by the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Second, this whole “controversy” is contrived … the video is awkward, but nothing perverse. Third, I left Tibetan Buddhism because many see him as “divine” and treat him as such, and that never felt right to me. Much more at home in Zen!
It was a stupid thing to do, and i have to agree with the critics saying if it was a Pope or someone like John MacArthur the mainstream media would be going nuts. Obviously you don't watch the media today my friend. I'm new to Zen, somehow through a youtube feed i ran across a video of Shohaku Okumura and have been reading his books for the last 6 months.
What you think about The Dalai Lama is completely ignorant. There’s enough other people in the comments about the depth of his knowledge and realization. You do need to know that the video going around is cropped and edited and is definitely propaganda. If you’re going to do this kind of “deep dive” you should do your research.
"There's enough other people in the comments about the depth of his knowledge and realization." Why even bring up other people in the comments? Sounds like you're just going along with the herd on this one, rather than directly studying these topics yourself. It's clear to me from just a little bit of research, that the Dalai Lama is not a good representation of authentic Buddhism, and I've felt this way for over a decade now. And it's also clear that many of these "people in the comments" are biased towards him for one reason or another or are just truly unaware of the in-authentic nature of Tibetan Buddhism as a whole.
@@marcgreene6343 That is true, I don't know who you are or what you know, and we may have our differences and we may not, but regardless I wish you well with much metta! Be well
It's troubling to see how many people in these comments are equating "buddhist scholasticism" with Buddhism. Stating that he earned a "geshe degree" or that he has the equivalent of a phd in buddhist "philosophy" therefore he must be a good buddhist practitioner. Buddhism is not an academic study, Buddhism is not a philosophy. What use is having vast academic knowledge or deep philosophical understandings if you're lacking in basic sila(buddhist ethics), such as practicing right speech at the right time, and just knowing how to appropriately conduct oneself in specific circumstances. Basically your thoughts/actions should be geared towards lessening the suffering of oneself and those around us, or at least being neutral, never behaving mindlessly as to even accidently increase the suffering in oneself or those around. In this case the dalai lama was un-wise in his speech and actions. Though doubtfully a pedophile, he was at the very least behaving inappropriately at the wrong place wrong time. And again just to prove my main point: having an advanced academic degree in buddhist studies/"philosophy" does not prove you know ANYTHING about Buddhism. If one thinks they can take a course, or read a book, or complete a scholastic program or do academic research and then having acquired all this "book" knowledge, they now consider themselves to "understand" Buddhism, that would be completely deluded. Buddhism is a living practice, every day, every moment, no academic books or fancy philosophical theories required! Just living in accordance with Dhamma! IMO in this scenario, asking the little boy to suck your tongue is NOT living in accordance with Dhamma! Metta to all, including the little indian boy, his family and metta to the dalai lama himself! Metta! Metta! Metta!
I think the dalai lama position always was symbolic of a unified tibet... lots of local kings with power, but everyone respected the dalai lamas as a gift from the buddha to defend and protect them. (thats how they think 🤷)
14:57 it's kind of interesting to see all the "conservatives" denouncing Dalai Lama as a perv when mr Hardcore Zen would expect the "conservatives" to be hypocritical and defend Dalai Lama just to get to the Chinese. Is that correct? You are criticizing the conservatives for being consistently moral instead of just utilitarian? Isn't there some projection happening here from the part of the "liberals" such as yourself?
Conservatives are hardly exceptionally moral, they virtue-signal with this stuff. ”Oh, think of the children!” - it’s the easiest and laziest way there is… 😅
I'm not sure if I'm a "liberal" anymore. Or a "conservative." I find both sides to be pretty stupid these days. I just think if the rabidly anti-Chinese conservatives understood that they were being played by the Chinese Communist Party they might be reacting differently to this video.
Are you serious the Dalai Lama is a trained to the level of a geshe, knows much about sutra and tantra, used to do much meditation and ritual. If age has limited his cognition I don’t know but early in his carrier his books were very detailed and in recent decades more superficial towards Buddhists and non Buddhists not sure how much help he receives. He has met with Buddhist leaders in all major traditions. I have found many things he has said over the years as not sounding like a wise man or having to back track his view. It’s always just joking or back tracks insulting the woke crowd. I have no master level gauge. So I’ll watch my own mind and free myself. The cult of personalities I scratch my head. But no one fallows the simple monk. 😮
I've never heard HHDL sound off about being staunchly pro or anti anything. What I have heard him say in regard to homosexuality is that it's up to society to determine what's acceptable.
Beyond all the hype (predictable considering “outrage” culture) I’m sure there is some degree of cultural dissonance. But to be honest, if this is actually him being a creeper, it is about as shocking to me as first hearing the Buddha’s “sexist” discourse on disallowing women to practice. The upset stops at the recognition that they are human. Only their followers ever expected them to be anything more. The dharma presents itself in all aspects of our character, however weird, for better or worse.
Sidenote: "His Holiness" is a kind of bad translation of Tibetan honorific "Kyabjé". What it actually means is: "Kyabjé (Tib. སྐྱབས་རྗེ་, Wyl. skyabs rje) is a mark of respect reserved for the seniormost lamas of the tradition, whose realization and powers are extraordinary."
These transliterations are quite misleading regarding the actual pronounciation. I always thought, there would/should be some reformed system, which would make learning the vernacular easier, but that seems not to be the case.
If one watches closely at the end the DL playfully slaps the boy away when the boy try's to touch toungs. it's wierd granted, but seems like an out of touch cheecky grandpa being filtered through today's hyperactive sensitivities. And for most news outlets to edit the last few seconds... we'll that shit speaks volumes by itself!😮
🙄.Nothing ‘ cheeky grandpa’ about it at all . He put that innocent little boy in a horrible position ....he should know better given his privileged position of celebrity status . Tone deaf, enabled and living in a very lucrative, well oiled machine of wealth and comfort . Everyone is making excuses for DL & totally ignoring the discomfort of the young boy who was put in this position by his parents .
A wise person once stated: "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one." And, in my opinion, instead of listening to others' opinions it's better to seek out genuinely informed source materials. Professor Robert Thurman has published a UA-cam regarding the "tongue" hullabaloo: "HH Dalai Lama Archetype of Radical Innocence with Robert Thurman : On The Recent Viral Video" ua-cam.com/video/f62zivSnTQM/v-deo.html
I saw that. I'm not nearly as certain as Mr Thurman about the Dalai Lama's "radical innocence." He supported cult-leader Shoko Asahara who put poison on the Tokyo subway system, and the leader of the NXIVM cult who branded women, and he has accepted a lot of money from the CIA over the years. There is definitely a dark side to "His Holiness" that people like Mr Thurman prefer to ignore. "Informed source" indeed! Still, in this case, as I said clearly in this video, I don't think the Dalai Lama is a pervert.
Ok, all of you are wrong 1. A teacher needs to be trusted by the student, or the student won't listen. 2. As Dogen wrote, is a man reaching for his pillow in the middle of the night no eyes and all hands or all hands and no eye. 3. This is what happens when you don't have a Panchen Lama. 4. Siddhartha was very clear, do not make people into deities.
The most ridiculous thing: his holiness!!! (In the social) Maybe this is the end of many Buddhist communities. My solidarity to Brad. I didn't like many comments.
Yeah, people read too much into this incident. There's so much to criticize such him endorsing a NXIVM murderous cult member. He did this because of a generous donation, which is another problem. But show me systematic child abuse and I'll take this clip seriously.
The Dalai Lama is an extremely versed scholar in Tibetan/Vajrayana Buddhism. I have read some of his more in depth books on the topic. His sect known as the Gelug is the scholarly debating style monastic sect in Tibetan Buddhism. For several years, I was attending a center with a Tibetan monk of that sect. They are bit too obsessed with the scholarly debating approach in my opinion. The Dalai Lama is also not much of a politician from what I've seen. More of an ambassador or spokesperson for the Tibetan cause. Just saying.
This seems to be more of a cultural misunderstanding than anything else. His behavior is consistent with how Tibetans act towards children and it is not sexual in nature. If you think the Dalai Lama doesn’t know anything about Buddhism you are a fool…but I like you anyway 😊.
Brad, your comment about the Dalai Lama not knowing much about Buddhism is shockingly ignorant and somewhat arrogant. He has attained mastery within The Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions through sutra study, debate, retreat practice, apprenticeship, etc. from the age of three. He wakes up at 4:00 and practices for several hours every morning. He has led hundreds of retreats and initiations and has spent a lifetime serving not only his people but providing teaching, guidance and support To countless people all over the world. We live in a time of cancel culture. Taking an isolated incident and making wild accusations and dismissing decades of teaching and service... There has never been any previous accusations of child molestation or anything of the sort. I agree it was a weird thing to say but he is a human being and people do fuck up from time to time. Generating wisdom and compassion is the foundation of the Buddhadharma. Let’s practice a little bit of that eh? 🙏🏼
Well, maybe. But he's also been accused of taking a lot of money from the CIA to fund guerrilla operations and of a lot of other unsavory stuff. I'm just not very impressed with anything I've heard him say about Buddhism.
What! No mention of how uncomfortable that poor innocent young lad felt ? I think it’s very obvious who was being audacious & ignorant . That’s what happens after years of being elevated to guru celebrity status ...tone deaf; echo chamber where he feels beyond reproach. Surrounded by enablers and sycophantic worshippers . He knows how lucrative cults can be & he’s enjoyed the long comfortable ride . Let’s see where history delegates his spiritual , political and social import in the next 100yrs 🙄
@@selviskk I know what you meant ..... but your need to clarify it makes my comment even MORE relevant . Stop w the armchair nit picking /academic philosophising of who or what the DL best represents and look at the glaring reality of this modern day , very lucrative duplicitous gravy train he has enjoyed for decades . All cults count on gullible devotees upon whom to weave & hone their snakeoil craft . The old adage ‘ there’s a sucker born every minute ‘ is the only unalterable fact they need in order to spin the Cult formulaic smoke & mirrors . It’s as old as time & thriving better than ever in this world of far reaching social media . And we think we are discerning 🙄🤨
Maybe you should stay out of politics. The depth it requires to comment seriously on it requires a fair amount of research. Not that you couldn't do it, but it would probably detract from your other content.
Wisdom Publications was founded by Lama Yeshe…a Gelugpa monk who is partly responsible for getting the Dali Lama to tour the world back in the day. Since the Dalai Lama is head of the Gelugpa order, I can see why they wouldn’t “appreciate” your attempt at a joke…(!)🫢
One thing about the Tibetans: they take their Buddhism very seriously and have done much to preserve it. While Buddhism is (seemingly) disappearing in most countries (including China and Japan) the Tibetans continue to cling to their religion. They deserve recognition for their commitment/effort…
Maybe they have done well to preserve "their form of buddhism," but as far as traditional Buddhist doctrine and practice goes, most tibetan forms of buddhism are far from the original Buddhas teachings and practice. This is of course just my opinion and experience. I have nothing out right wrong with tibetan buddhism or the dalai lama, but from the very start I've always felt a bit hesitant to embrace their tradition knowing much of the practice and doctrine was never actually taught by the buddha, and could easily become further distractions from the more simple, pure dhamma.
As for the dalai lama, I don't sense that he's a pedophile, but he was certainly inappropriate and lacking in right speech and right actions in this instance. Although again, from the very start I've never even considered associating Buddhism with the Dalai Lama, he and most of the tibetan tradition is just too far removed from the basics with too many unnecessary "bells and whistles" added in for my taste. To each their own! Regardless of yours or anyone else's opinions on the matter, may you and any/everyone else be well and be full of love. Metta to all beings, all religions, all forms of buddhism, and metta to the dalai lama himself! May he learn from this experience and may it help nudge him further towards awakening and fulfilling his ultimate potential here and now in this life.
@@jahvarino1770 Well said, but we should keep in mind some younger people majoring in Buddhist Studies today are specializing in Tibetan language because the original scriptures (in Chinese, Sanskrit, etc.) have been lost and are only preserved in Tibetan. Also, it seems some purists who cling to “original” and “pure” Dhamma (i.e., the Pali canon) have a critical/skeptical view of Zen, even Soto Zen. It seems the same dismissive attitude toward Tibetan Buddhism can also be applied to Brad’s form of Zen from the Pali traditionalist perspective….(?)
But I’m open to further discussion here…I suppose it comes down to what exactly one feels is “real” or “legitimate” Buddhism….
@@adamdacevedo Well the Pali Suttas and Chinese Agamas which I consider to be the oldest and closest to "authentic" or traditional Buddhism are in Pali and Chinese, not Tibetan. But anyways from my perspective Theravada is not the original Buddhism, nor is Zen, or any organized form of Buddhism at this point in time, but especially not Tibetan styles of Buddhism. Much of the tibetan traditions are completely foreign to the original teachings/practice of the Buddha.
Also I've never understood zen people who don't get theravada, and I've never understood Theravadins who don't get zen. I think the most authentic buddhism lies somewhere in between theravada and zen, and I see both systems as complimentary to each other. It's when one gets hyper-orthodox with any one system that they begin to stray further from the Buddhas original way, and Theravada definitely can be guilty of this.
They sound like the Somalis of Buddhism. Despite wars, despite displacement, they some how keep the Islamic tradition alive more than any other people, including the Arabs. It's as if Islam has become apart of Somalian identity, and wherever the Somali goes, the Islam goes with him. Tibetan identity must be like that with Buddhism.
@@MrResearcher122 I would be hesitant to push that analogy too far. Particularly because tibetan buddhism is just that, tibetan buddhism. The buddhism youll see in other countries/cultures can be drastically different, being from a different tradition, and that's been preserved very well in these other cultures, but not so much in tibetan culture. So anyways Buddhist history and preservation of buddhist doctrine/practice may be a little more complicated than you're making it out to be in that comparison with Somali Muslims.
"What does the Dalai Lama know about Buddhism?"
He was taught at the best school for Buddhism in Tibet. His degree would be similar to a Doctorate of Divinity degree from a Catholic Seminary. What does the Dalai Lama know about Buddhism? He is LITERALLY an expert at his form of Buddhism.
I studied Buddhism for around 15 years. Tibetan Buddhism was my gateway of sorts, from Catholicism into the Buddha-dharma. I moved on to the exploration of other sects and traditions -- mainly Shingon, but also Pure Land, Nichiren, and Theravada -- and I have to say my opinion of the DL was similar to yours. People think of him as the head of all Buddhism, when really he never had much relevance to my own studies and practice.
Apropos of nothing, I noticed Eric Tamm's book on Robert Fripp on your bookshelf. I'm a King Crimson fan and own that one as well. Cheers.
I’ve asked around and “eat the tongue” is a better translation from the Tibetan expression. It implies nothing sexual and it’s an expression that originally came from Tibetan mothers mouth feeding their children. They would chew the food for the babies, this would be their baby food. “You’re still hungry? Then eat the tongue!” But now it’s an expression used by Tibetans of an older generation to be playful with children.
Been waiting for you to say something about this one!
I'm a Tibetan translator who has lived 17 years in India and Nepal among exile Tibetans. Here is what you need to know:
In Tibetan culture, it is common to see the old grandparents not only give a pop kiss to the small children, but also give a small candy or piece of food to children from their mouths - directly mouth to mouth. This may not be the norm of your culture, but this is commonly done. After the elder gives a pop kiss and a candy, since there is nothing left in their mouth, nothing left to give, they will say the phrase "Ok, now 'eat my tongue"" (not 'suck,' as His Holiness misspoke due to his less proficient English). The Tibetan "I've given you all my love and the candy so that's it -all that's left to do is eat my tongue." And it is a playful thing that the children know. This is not really done in the Lhasa region (capital of Tibet) so much, but it is more common in the Amdo region (where HH is from).
Thank you. It does look strange to outsiders. But I never thought the Dalai Lama seemed to be acting perverted.
Only problem is, the child wasn't Tibetan and wouldn't have understood the gesture, and there was no giving of candy involved.
The Dalai Lama has been in the public eye his entire life. Even if this were a cultural expression, he should have known how it would have been interpreted on the world stage.
Exactly 🙏🙏🙏
@@HardcoreZen Yes. Actually i really appreciate you trying to take a fair stance here and clarify things. Which you did well. Thank you. It does matter.
@@3ggshe11s True. I think the same. It was very unfortunate he didn't take more care here. Maybe since he doesn't read socal media, he has no idea how charged that whole issue of sexual child abuse is in the west? I wonder... just wanted to give some extra information to see this in perspective. BTW, the (I think, Indian) mother of the boy already posted a video on FB saying the Dalai Lama's behavior didn't disturb (much less traumatized) her child at all... In general, while Tibetans and Indians as well are very conservative when it comes to sex relationships, they are quite natural with their bodies, and many things that are considered shameful or inappropriate in our culture are definitely not shameful or even considered sexual over there.
I heard it here first - thanks for keeping me up to date on current affairs. I'll see if gets on to the news in France.
The Dalai Lama doesnt know much about Buddhism.. Really Brad?
By your definition of "politician" we'd also have to include Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Gandhi.
I would include them as well. They're mostly political figures, as far as I can see. Maybe not "politicians" as such, since that tends to mean people who are appointed to positions in government. But they're political professionals for the most part and religious people secondarily.
I like the mythology bit of Tibetan Buddhism. It’s a very deep and rich system.
Tibetan Buddhist here. In addition to what you mentioned, the Dalai Lama is also regarded as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. (No eyes, no ears, no nose, no...tongue?)
I do revere him, so obviously I'm biased but he's literally been groomed since boyhood not only to be a political leader but scholar. He's had all the best teachers and is very knowledgeable possessing what would be the equivalent of a phd. He has also written and a lot of books on Buddhism.
I just find the whole thing sad. Abuse does happen in monastic settings but my gut says this isn't it. If you watch the Dalai Lama, a lot of his interactions are weird, Desmond Tutu, Lady Gaga etc. There might be some cultural thing with tongues. I know when I was in Nepal I picked up a little habit of sticking my tongue out - but certainly not asking anyone to suck it!!
Am I the only person who finds that old people can be inappropriate and gross? That could just be what we're seeing here.
I couldn't help but notice all the masks in the background while they're playing tongue-sy adding to my confusion.
It's sad to see so many people whipped up about it. It's sad that this might be his legacy if he does die soon. But I think he'll bounce back.
The Dalai Lama always seems to be getting people upset. Remember when he said that refugees should try to return to their homeland when it is safe to do so. He said that he might reincarnate as a woman (but a beautiful one - not an ugly one. Most recently, probably to stick it to the Chinese, he said he wasn't going to reincarnate at all. I like that about him.
As someone who is watching the elder generation of my family slide into old age I can attest that they start getting really off kilter and yeah, sometimes even gross. I’ve seen a clip by a man who stated he was Tibetan explaining some cultural relevance to what he did
🙄 methinks thou art too immersed in the cult . He’s a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ type whose celebrity status is part of an exceptionally lucrative and duplicitous multi billion dollar operation . Amazing how these guru types r never truly grilled ab their hypocrisy .
So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald… striking. So, I’m on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga… gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, “Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.” So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.
Somebody had to ...
Seeing the Dalai Lama only as a politician is like seeing you only as a Punk Rocker...
I don't care about Brad Warner. I really don't care about Brad Warner. 😅
@@smolderingtitan Most of the time I don't either. He's mostly a work of fiction created by other people (with some input from me).
😂😂😂👍
I just want to say from what I have studied (Doing my Master's Degree in Buddhist Studies) is that the Dalai Lama has to obtain what is known as a Geshe Degree. The Geshe Degree is basically a PhD in Buddhist philosophy from the Tibetan perspective of course and takes about 20 years to complete. The Dalai Lama (who is the head of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism) has to then go on to study Tantric philosophy as well. I'm not commenting on this as a "gotcha" but respectfully only because in the video you said that the Dalai Lama doesn't know much about Buddhism.
OK. I accept that he has studied Buddhism from an academic perspective. Still, I'm not all that interested in academic Buddhism. Sometimes I am. But he doesn't seem to me to be one of the best sources even of academic Buddhism.
@@HardcoreZen That makes me nervous as I am citing one of his books in a paper I am working on about Nagarjuna lol.
@@HardcoreZen Brad, do you think the Dalai Lama practices meditation along with his academics?
@@HardcoreZen When it comes to Mahayana Buddhism he is. There are many very long treatises about various Buddhist paths and methods and he does a very good job of condensing it for lay readers.
@@aucontraire593Brad doesn't know, obviously.
Fair play if you do not really care about the Dalai Lama, or what he has to say about Buddhism. But he is a monk who is an expert in all aspects of the Gelug school and Tibetan Buddhism on the whole. Saying the Dalai lama doesn't know anything about Buddhism is like saying that a PHD in Buddhist studies doesn't know anything about Buddhism. If you think that his former position as the political leader of the Tibetan people in exile effects his teaching of Buddhism. That would be a fair opinion. I enjoy your books and his. It's not that big of a deal. Just putting it out there.
Well said!
Ditto.
That's a strange comparison.
@@mattm2272 Great comment Matt
I'm given to understand he's publicly seriously speculated about actually refraining from reincarnating to his 15th, to short-circuit the Chinese usurpation. Clever.
If I remember right, the state-oracle had already foretold in the 1930/40ies that there would be no 15th Dalai Lama (or "Wishfullfilling Juwel"). Well, we like our exotisms, don´t we? And it even works both ways, just as the saying goes (exact wording?): "The grass is always greener over there!"
@Hardcore Zen Brad I see you have Autobiography of a Yogi in the back. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on that book. It's a book that shows up in the most interesting places!
I enjoyed it when I read it at age 18 or so. I haven't read it since. I bought that copy because there's a photo of Peter Tork of the Monkees reading that out-of-print edition of the book and I found it at a used bookstore last week. Looking at it now, it seems like a period piece. The writing seems very much 19th century Victorian Era style (even though it was written in the 20th century). What I recall of the book was that it was full of a lot of magical-sounding stories with people doing all sorts of miracles. I'm not sure how valuable such stories are. But they can be fun to read. Yogananda seems to have been a very sincere man. But, then again, he was also very ambitious and seems to have courted fame and wealth. He was probably one of those people who claimed he had no material possessions of his own and yet somehow had access to a lot of possessions that were not technically his (at least on paper).
A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.
His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.
I am a Tibetan Buddhist, but I don't personally much care about Dalai Lama. I see him as a political figure.
With this current incident, I just don't know what to think. Poor boy. And whoever we blame, Tibetan exile community will also be hurt regardless.
Is the order the Dalai Lama belongs to the largest Tibetan Buddhist order? Why are they regarded as so important? Is the order that the Dalai Lama belongs to comparable to something like Catholicism in the sense that one could argue that Catholicism is the oldest and most well-established of the many Christian denominations (I'm sure even this could be challenged)?
@@HardcoreZen I think the Dalai Lama really is mostly important as a political figure. Tibet had kings/ emperors in the middle ages but the 5th Dalai Lama became the political leader of Tibet in the 1600s, I think with the support of one of the first Qing emperors who was into tantra. Technically, he isn't even the leader of his own specific school of Tibetan buddhism (another Lama is). Obviously he is an important figure in Tibetan buddhism, a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, so no offense to the people who revere him, but I think non Tibetan buddhists can criticize him if they want. And the Western perception that he is the pope of Buddhism is so off.
@@HardcoreZen I think the response above is good. Just to clarify why I don't in religious sense much care about Dalai Lama.
1. I practice within Nyingma tradition. There only lamas who really matter are who you directly connect with in person and through lineage. Dalai Lama is simply far outside of that.
2. I just don't find most what he says that interesting. There are simply much more profound teachers in Tibetan Buddhism: those people truly dedicate their life to practice and teaching.
So curious as to why you’re interested in Soto Zen and Dogen! 😝 I’m a former Tibetan Buddhist myself, but haven’t identified as such or followed the teachings for years now.
So basically what you're saying is that the Dalai Lama is a hero to most but he never meant $#!+ to you.
Knew I recognized the intro song! 🖖🏼Live long & prosper, friend.
I'm glad someone did!
That looks like a bass VI only different. What is it?
It's Eastwood's copy of a Teisco six-string bass from the 1960's. It's called a TB-64.
I certainly appreciate and respect your opinion on this matter. I do disagree somewhat that he is just a politician/political leader. He has the reputation as moral leader whose positions on peace and justice are informed by the moral precepts of Buddhism. Likewise, Martin Luther King, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Thomas Merton's moral standing were informed by Christianity. It would be sad if they were dismissed as being " simply politicians". Perhaps the Dali Lama is past his prime and his age is showing.
He’s part of a multi billion dollar exceptionally lucrative cult . Fools & horses rush to obey
Hey! The Dali Lama stole my pickup line.
HA!
Lmfao 😂
It's weird, he's old and maybe getting a touch senile?
It's possible. Some people have speculated about that. It does seem like a weird thing to do. Or maybe he doesn't interact with kids very much? I don't know...
Tibetan culture is completely different from ours. Almost positive, there are many things in our culture that cause as much astonishment to Tibetans as we have been astonished while watching the video clip of the Dalai Lama.
Tibetan culture is not completely different. It is still part of "humanity" (ok, sounds a bit pathetic, sorry). I had the chance to talk with Colin Goldner, who has been several times to Tibet (Xizàng Aut. Reg.). He´s very erudite, and rather an univeralist, and seems to be very critical of every primary/secondary "orientalism" (F. Said) - and so am I. Well, even the famous "orientalist pioneer" Alexandra David-Neel was not very amused, when some "pilgrims" developed the idea of eating her in order to partake of the spiritual powers she was said to possess. She only survived this episode by being able to convince her opponents that their "magicology" was flawed, because... (please read the story for Yourself, it´s been some time, can´t remember the details exactly). And that´s only one example of strange customs here, there, and everywhere, where I would say: They can and should be critisized. Tolerance and mutual understanding may be virtues, but they should not "derail" into indifference, my opinion.
Probably true.
@@gunterappoldt3037 ; Let’s focus in the Dalai Lama topic first.
I first heard about Dalai video while online listening to a dharma talk by a Tibetan Teacher. I was too engrossed listening to Lama Teacher and disconnect the chat with angry people talking about The Dalai Lama. The following day as some Channel commentators kept demanding for explanations to the Spanish Tibetan Website and some comments were a little bit aggressive while others out of place, I wrote the same comment as in Brad Channel.
Someone somehow alleviated by my comment responded: “It didn’t stupefy me personally, but it’s just as you say. Tibetans are already explaining it, and also viral video spread all over internet has editing details on it, Chinese propaganda. There was a recent event that seems to be justifying the propaganda”
I replied back; “To me the viral video clip caused me stupor and disgust. This was not only because I am from a Western culture but also because ever since I was a baby I was horrified when adults (other than my parents) approached me, touched my cheeks and kissed. As a baby their faces seemed gigantic to me and their breath all over me disgusting”
Why I am re-writing all this?. Because I’d like to give you image that have an open mind towards other culture it doesn’t mean in any way to take or accept in one the whereabouts of that culture. It doesn’t mean either to impose our Western cultural, social ways over any other culture.
@@lorenacharlotte8383 🙏
Lol I asked you about your thoughts on the Dalai Lama when you came to Ventura College to talk with Kevin’s philosophy club in like 2009. You said you didn’t really know much about him because zen is very different. It was such an ignorant question but I went on to study East Asian Buddhism at UCSB and understands much more now.
I was first introduced to Buddhism at UCSB around 2011ish. I was a comm major and took a Chinese Buddhism class taught by William Powell just because I needed credits and it had seats available. It was my favorite course I took in college and obviously had quite the impact as I'm still engaging with Buddhism all these years later. Did you happen to take any classes with him/know what he is up to now?
@@ImStuckInStockton Yes! Powell was my favorite professor. I took quite a few of his classes and he even wrote me a rec for the JET program. He was professor emeritus for a while but I think he finally retired and moved to the mountains at the end of 2012. He was giving away a lot of the stuff in his office. I got a Gary Snyder book and some posters from him but I don't keep in touch. We were probably in the same class.
Ok, now I don't feel so bad for not really caring for tibetan buddhism. Thanks Brad.
Seems to me that the opposite is true: the Dalai Lama is a committed Buddhist monk/scholar/teacher that was *forced* to become a “politician” because his country was invaded by a much larger, more powerful country…thus the famous escape into exile…
The position of the Dalai Lama was of political character from the beginning, when it was installed by the Mongols about 450 years ago. In fact, the spiritual head of the Gelugpa, nominally, should be the Panchen-Lama.
@@gunterappoldt3037 Yes, but why the Geshe degree for the current Dalai Lama? Seems unnecessary for a political role…plenty of kings/princes/leaders down through history have ruled without having religious training…
The conclusion seems to me to be that the Dalai Lama (especially the current one) is BOTH a politician/statesman AND a religious teacher….perhaps 50/50 monk and statesman. Although I believe he made the decision a few years ago, asking to retire from politics and function “only” as a spiritual teacher, but I don’t recall the details surrounding the announcement…but prior to that his day started with meditation and spiritual practice/study but then segued into more secular activities. His speeches around the world also seemed sometimes to be spiritual and other times purely political…
@@adamdacevedo For one, more in general, the seperation between "state" und "church" was often not very clear in old societies. For example, who was originally the "Pontifex maximus" in Rome? It was the "august" Emperor. Similarly, on the other side of the Eurasian continent, the "Heaven´s Master/Son" (天子) also held important "religiousl" obligations, e.g., he had to keep the state-ritual, centered around ancestor-worship, going, and so forth. In the Himalayan region, things went very similar, more or less, I would say.
What my argument was meant to convey, is this: The "institution" of the Dalai Lama had first of all political character. Therefore, the term "God-King", coined by Western scholars, I guess, may not be totally correct, yet still shed some light upon the core socio-political function of this institution - whereby the person of the DL often, seemingly, in reality was not the one who really held the power.
Well, I did some studies on the history of Tibet, and the situation even just regarding the two core-provinces "Zang" and "U" was often complicated, as there were also local feudal powers (e.g., notoriously the Khampa in the "wild East"), and central nobility in Lhasa-City, .... and they all had to somehow go along with each other, for the better or worse, and it was not always very peacefully, things went, as already mentioned.
As I have read Heinrich Harrer´s "Sieben Jahre in Tibet", as well as the first autobiography of the current Dalai Lama, - but also critical studies, like the one published by Colin Goldner, - I may say, I aquired some basic knowledge regarding the c.v. of the actual "God-King", now seemingly partly in retirement.
Sure, I agreee, he was and is a "cleric", too, and was trained in the "Buddhist world-view" (the Lamaistic style in the Gelukpa-version, that is) ever since he entered the Potala as a young child, too (e.g., he learned reading and writing, and most Tibetan literature - maybe even over 90% - is of "clerical" character; now you connect the points: What kind of literature could he positively mainly have read?).
Nevertheless, his main occupation always was, so to speak, the personal/symbolic/ritual representation of the central (provincial) government. However, in fact, regarding political matters, he seemingly had not much of a say and functioned mainly as a "pawn in the game" in the hands of advisors, politicians, "grey eminences", and so forth.
In "spiritual" matters, he seems to me still rather "old (premodern) school", although he also tried to proof that Buddhism was "science in the strict sense" (to paraphrase E. Husserl), which however can/should be debated controversely.
Anyway, with the years the scene changed in parts dramatically: Modern sciences, i.e. archaeology, philology, Buddhology, psychology, and so forth, have dis- and uncovered new data, which shed quite new light on many aspects of the World of Buddhism - and "debunked" several "myths". I´m not sure, what role the current Dalai Lama plays in matters of Buddhist Learning and Modernism. As mentioned, some propositions seem rather "old school", and a bit obsolete, in ligth of newer studies and insights. But that´s just my personal view.
That´s about the way I´d provisionally describe the "political sociology" of the Dalai Lama as a person, and as an institution, in a few words. I hope that helped for some clarification. -Regards
As you've seen from other commenters the Dalai Lama definitely knows about Buddhism. Lamas higher up in the hierarchy like the Dalai Lama have to go through rigorous academic training starting in their youth. The Dalai Lama often teaches from Nagarjunas works. Many Zen traditions claim Nagarjuna as an Indian patriarch in their lineages. Whether they have spiritual realization or not is up for debate.
Brad does not know the secret Tibetan technique THE TONGUE OF BUDDHA.
What I don’t understand is: how can you Brad say that the Dalai Lama doesn’t know much about Buddhism when you also say that you don’t know much about the Dalai Lama? For the rest, I enjoy your videos.
Agreed!
I just don’t see any evidence that he has anything to teach me about Buddhism. I’ve thumbed through his books now and then. I’ve watched a few talks by him. They’re just not interesting at all to me. Lots of nominally Buddhist authors and celebrities are not interesting to me and the Dalai Lama is one of them.
@@HardcoreZen I agree with you Brad but to me the fact that I feel he doesn’t have anything to teach me in terms of Buddhism, doesn’t necessarily mean that he doesn’t know much about it. That said I must admit that you have been so far really inspiring to me with your videos. Thanks for your answer.
@@HardcoreZen"nominally"
@@sergiomura1613 @Hardcore Zen - I agree with this. Just because I don't like Dimentia 13 and your music doesn't appeal to me or grip me doesn't mean you haven't played bass for years and have skill.
Being a Zen Buddhist, you might find what he says uninteresting and basic. But this person is trying to speak to people from all walks of life and from his own context.
Some people might not find your work appealing Brad, but their opinion doesn't change your profound commitmtent and work. Taste is not a basis for assessing a person's experience and knowledge.
This is really a case of two different cultures not understanding each other. In Tibetan custom grand parents commonly make the joke to "eat my tongue" as the as the grandparent has given everything and now the only thing left is for the child to eat the tongue. The Dalai Lama miss translated "Eat" in Tibetan to "suck" in English. Additionally, showing and sticking out ones tongue is a sign of respect in Tibetan culture.
No, it is not, rather on the contrary. But, may be ... even sign-language changes over times and spaces.
I volunteered several times for elderly people. Most of them have "lost" their mind. Sad, but that is life.
good luck dealing with the comments!
Always a joy to hear your clear analyses. The part on Ben Shapiro however is too sharp as Ben is indeed (very) intelligent, regardless of what you think of his ideas. To me it feels like the polarisation in the US can even subtly be felt in this video which makes me a little sad from the perspective of the dharma. You do bring clarity and joy to my practice at the same time so I will definitely be back.
I've had friends contacting me for my thoughts on this because I "do that buddhism/zen stuff" and they assumed the Dalai Lama is someone we revere as a modern day Buddha. They are surprised when I explain that my only knowledge of him is from watching Seven Years in Tibet 😂 and I view him the way the average Catholic might view Jimmy Swaggart 🤷♀️
The average person doesn't know the different types of Buddhism. The incident with the boy went viral worldwide. Now all Buddhist monks are looked at as symbols of child abuse, like Catholic priests. Being that he is the most famous living Buddhist, this is probably the most negatively impactful event in Buddhist history. At the very least, hundreds of millions of people watched the video and disagreed with him forcibly kissing the child and asking the child to suck his tongue. Reading the comments on the videos with him kissing the kid You will read comments mocking Buddhism in general. Unfortunately, most people have no idea. The far-reaching consequences that will affect all of Buddhism now and in the future.
@Shaun Lindsey I have actually been surprised that I've only encountered 2 or 3 people outside of the Buddhist community that have seen or heard of the incident. No one in my social media has posted anything about it, none of my clients seem to be aware of it, and almost none of my friends or family are aware. Of the handful of people who did approach me, none jumped to any conclusions beyond it having been weird and unacceptable behaviour. But every type of person exists so yes, many will make assumptions and accusations. I, personally, am not forming much of an opinion on the matter. It didn't strike me as an intentional insidious violation as some are calling it, but it is hard to speculate what goes on in someone else's mind, especially through watching a short video clip. Either way, I am not attached to how it might affect his image or that of Buddhism in general. Tomorrow the media will have a new scandal for the world to focus on.
@@tinadeemc8728 You must have a small circle. Joe Roagan commented on the abuse of the boy. He has the most listened-to podcast in the world. Hundreds of millions of people have the same conclusion as me. An old man forcibly grabbing my child and kissing him on the lips would be unacceptable to me and a large portion of the world. I don't know anyone who hasn't heard about it. I did assume some of the older generations would not know what is going on. Thank you for commenting it shows my assumption was correct.
Friend, it is called "ignorance".
I am most interested in Kagyu Mahamudra when it comes to Tibetan Buddhism. Western practitioners/writers often mention the similarities to Zen. I would add specifically to Soto Zen in my opinion.
Both Mahamudra & Dzogchen in Tibetan Buddhism have a lot in common with Shikantaza in Soto Zen & Silent Illumination in Caodong Chan Buddhism. I like the living/evolving tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, but they seem a bit less open to discuss their practices than Zen & Chan practitioners. So as long as you can link up with a good teacher all will be well.
Brad saying that he doesn’t think the Dalai Lama knows that much about Buddhism is a lot like a Baptist preacher saying that he doesn’t think the Pope knows that much about Christianity.
@@JimTempleman I don't understand. I am Eastern Orthodox
@@wilhelmmischief8416 Good point. There is always the danger of having a short sighted view! And it's not good to criticize leaders of other religious orders strictly in terms of one's own limited view of things (as Brad judged the Dalai Lama's understanding).
@@JimTempleman Max Weber critisized Catholisism´s "enchanted garden(s)". I sense, Brad would rather side with the "rational" attitude, Max Weber attributet to the Protestants/Puritans.
@@gunterappoldt3037 Max Weber, being a sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, was criticizing Catholisism from those perspectives (not from a religious perspective).
The Dalai Lama represents an enormous tract of Tibetan Buddhism. Mahamudra & Dzogchen are included in that tract & are very similar to Dogan's (Rújìng's) Shikantaza.
I don't think Brad knows much about Mahamudra & Dzogchen.
I don't think Brad knows much about Tantric Buddhism either.
. I don't think Brad ever met the Dalai Lama or read one of his more serious works.
I don't think Brad needs to research such matters, but:
Why Brad criticizes him based on a very superficial exposer to him is beyond me.
The Dalai Lama bears the weight of a lot more responsibility than either one of Brad's
former teachers
One wonders how Brad would react to meeting "the real Dogen" in the flesh.
But that's another matter entirely.
There's already cases of this tulku problem, yes. The most famous is the Karmapa, head of the Kagyu school, which has two recognised emanations, whose names I don't really remember. One of them is recognised by the Chinese government and interestingly by the Dalai Lama himself (who, as I heard, isn't really that important to the recognition process of the Karmapa lineage). The other one does not have much following, but it's said that the people who recognised him were people deeply connected with the previous Karmapa.
Now, about the Dalai Lama importance, as some guy told us about below, he's one of the heads of the Gelug school, which is nowadays the most numerous sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He's a great scholar, which is something much valorised in Tibetan Buddhism, a lot more than in Zen, and he does retreats and concedes initiations or empowerments frequently. I know people who have aspirations of being direct students of him. So... I get your point about he being more political than spiritual, I really do, but he does know a lot about Buddhism.
I'm a Tibetan Buddhist myself, although I often hear more dharma talks from theravadin and Zen folks than Tibetans, so I got shocked with this incident. I'm not related to the Gelug school, my affiliation is more inclinated to Nyingma, but as you may have noticed he's an important figure to a lot of Tibetan Buddhists in and outside his sect. It's indeed weird stuff, very weird stuff. Even if it is not pedophilic, it is kinda weird and I'm not able to enthusiasticly defend him as other folks are doing.
But I'm glad you mentioned this possible connection with China. We can't really ignore anything, and China is as imperialistic and colonialist as any other major power in our current world situation. I even saw some people on twitter praising China for the absurd massacre promoted during their conquest of Tibet... There's always more truths than facts, it seems. I don't really know what to believe.
Thank you for the clarification about the Dalai Lama's role in Tibetan Buddhism. It's very confusing to outsiders! A lot of people think the Dalai Lama represents ALL of Buddhism.
@@HardcoreZen ok, now i start to understand your issue with the Dalai Lama. Yeah it's unfortunate that the public view of Buddhism is so lopsided and generally uninformed. But Buddhism is so vastly diverse that it is really hard to find some common ground in terms of how Buddhism as a whole should or could be represented to the general public.
I do agree with you , everybody talks about the dalai lama as a prominent figure but i thinks it is more political , he may have studied a lot of scholar buddhism but for me there are better teachers that i can relate to better , as you . Also tibetan buddhists are really weird not my tradition but still respect it.
weird because you don't have any knowledge of it.
@@johnjones99124 true , about the tibetan tradition i respect it as buddhism but i am not knowledgeable. my grain of sand is that i am interested in people who live a common life and study zen buddhsm as well as other traditions, i think we all have a lot to gain in that regard instead of listeling to a teacher who lives a comfortable life as a political refuge , who has a lot of scholar or acadermic knowledge, and that is fine as well , to each his own.
@@ricardolecca9843 ok lets just forget about Dalai Lama there so many people not only Tibetan but also westerner who do retreat for many years staying in the cave on the high mountains ,what you have to say about them are they living the luxurious life, are they foolish ?
My opinion on this whole thing is that even if you want to assume that the Dalai Lama was just trying to be playful and that there wasn't anything sexually perverted or weird like that which was intended I personally think that it seems to show a lack a foresight as well as poor judgement on the part of the Dalai Lama and the people who are involved with him.I personally think that the Dalai Lama and the people involved with this incident should have shown a little bit more awareness about how something like this might come across if the rest of the world got wind of this especially the west.
Nothing was acceptable about this example . NOTHING . The poor kid was placed in an extremely uncomfortable position & will not take away good memories from this awful encounter . DL should not be excused ....even the minders looked uncomfortable . If we excuse this obnoxious behaviour we endorse a creepy uncle , dad or neighbour saying they were just teasing when coaxing kids .
He’s part of a multi billion dollar lucrative cult & thinks he is beyond reproach .
@@equatorialjourney4478 Exactly if anyone else did what he did. There would be no understanding. The person doing the act would be considered a child abuser.
Tibetans and the Chinese government have a dispute about the real Panchen lama.
That's what I was thinking of! Thanks!
I just have two cents to throw in and I will since I am a weigher-inner. He probably looks like a politician because that's the face you've seen. Others have commented on his training and I'd give him that much respect even if I assumed that he had no special talent. He couldn't be a Nisargadatta it wouldn't be effective. (I am also reminded of this kind of salt that I see among scientists and their colleagues). I spent just a little bit of time studying with Sasaki Roshi and most of the time he looked like an ordinary old man. Although one predawn morning during a sesshin at Mt. Baldy there was some ceremony. I glanced up at the Roshi for a second and he looked like that black statue of Huineng. A true patriarch carrying it with all seriousness. After seeing that I had a different kind of respect for him. Another thought about the mumbo-jumbo comment that may also relate to what the Dalai Lama may have been doing there. I think it's a Western bias that we have towards divinatory practices and the worldview that validates it. It's not linear causal so must be nonsense. Still stuck thinking that Newtonian physics is a gold standard and not a 350 years old first iterate model carrying assumptions. Yes, it still works well within its regime but doesn't cover everything right. Just suggesting the work of Pauli and Jung here where they study the relationship between psyche and matter and make a case for understanding meaningful coincidences. So moss on the tree can actually mean that he's over there, or the tarot card that actually fell is significant, and so forth. My understanding of the Tibetan style of Buddhism, from talks by Shinzen Young, is that it is strongly influenced by earlier shamanic practices including divination. So the thought I had was that he may have been giving some kind of transmission like 'magic' with the tongue. Insubstantial but symbolic but real nevertheless. Magical practices have been around for a long time. Or he is a creep, or just another flawed human being, or an old man from another culture, etc. I don't know. Also, I am reminded of something Shinzen has said at his retreats - the best kimchi has no smell at all. Thanks very much I enjoy the channel
Thank you.
The Dalai Lama is not just an academic Buddhist. He is a practicing Tibetan monk. For decades, he has been conducting multi-day initiations, practices and retreats of Tibetan Buddhism with monks and disciples. He is not only a political leader, he is also a spiritual teacher. Kind of like a Zen master in a Zen school. The story of Nishijima Roshi demonstrating his independence says more about Roshi's attitude than about the person of the Dalai Lama in any way xD
Or such a filthy scumbag he can't even keep his perversions behind closed doors, as well as having acknowledged he received $1.7m per year from the CIA and his association with Gerald Yorke, a personal friend and secretary to Aleister Crowley.
I dunno... There are some questions about his involvements with the CIA. Also some activities of the Tibetan government under his rule before the Chinese came in have been called highly unethical. I don't know the full truth. But all in all I don't find him a compelling spiritual leader.
@@HardcoreZenyou didn't actually address what was said to you in the comment you just responded to.
@@HardcoreZen Tip: Colin Goldner´s critical studies on the Dalai Lama and Tibet. There should even be at least one presentation available on UA-cam, albeit, maybe only in German, but sometimes subtitles help.
As I understand this boy is Indian not Tibetan. To me the boy didn't seem to enjoy this interaction. Maybe he didn't know this kind of "tradition"/joke? For a person of political and religious importance I find this interaction still not to be appropriate...
Personally as Tibetan Buddhist myself I’m not going to be to freaked out about the incident, ya it’s strange, but I’ve seen
a lot of elderly people get goofy with kids in my day. I think you my have a connection with the Chinese idea, they would love to have
a reason bring him into bad light. I remember when I was dabbling in Zen Buddhism (Soto) in the late eighties there was something about a priest that got a little hands on with some kid. It lost its effectiveness pretty quickly. But there is an old saying in Buddhism
“regret to humans is like wind to the birds “.🥰☸️
Just a thought, not particularly on this incident or even on the Dalai Lama, but on the difference in attitude between Zen Buddhism and Tibetan (and Theravada) Buddhism. In Zen we (for the most) honor, obey and respect our teachers and masters but they are still seen as humans. That makes them fair game for criticism. However, the Lamas are regarded as something more (else?) than human and seem more like Pope-like figures to the believers. And name me a Catholic who will not defend the Pope when he is "attacked"... Good work, Brad!
In gassho, Kyo - Do
Not pro chinese. It may be a game but it's a pervy game. Core memory for the boy for sure, too bad this kind of the memory.
Those who put the Dalai Lama on a pedestal are now struggling with the thought that he might be into pederasty. The lesson is to not put anyone up that high. What goes up will come down. Teachers, gurus and tulkus might fall but the Dharma holds firm. It holds the sky up and is the ground that catches everyone when they fall.
Actually no we are not struggling with this lol. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Not one bit.
In Tibetan culture, it is common to see the old grandparents not only give a pop kiss to the small children, but also give a small candy or piece of food to children from their mouths - directly mouth to mouth. This may not be the norm of your culture, but this is commonly done. After the elder gives a pop kiss and a candy, since there is nothing left in their mouth, nothing left to give, they will say the phrase "Ok, now 'eat my tongue"" (not 'suck,' as His Holiness misspoke due to his less proficient English). The Tibetan "I've given you all my love and the candy so that's it -all that's left to do is eat my tongue." And it is a playful thing that the children know. This is not really done in the Lhasa region (capital of Tibet) so much, but it is more common in the Amdo region (where HH is from).
Cardi B even chimed in on this issue. But the thing is she came out all guns blazing. The problem with that is she has a pretty questionable past and she 's "rachet" as all get out!
if you'd known this was going to happen you could've learned "suck my kiss" by RHCP. maybe he'll do it again...
Opportunity missed there.
The Dalai Lama retired as political head in 2011. Just an FYI. Sticking out tongue in Indian culture is a thing-- not the tongue sucking, though. And, if ya don't really know &/or read much about the Dalai Lama & Tibetan Buddhism, maybe you should stick to that vow you took 3 years ago? Just sayin'...
Btw, I often DO enjoy your books & videos, Brad.
😢
The Dalai Lama has had a path laid out by the times and circumstances - more a political leader than a great theologian. If he is a boddhisatva, then that path is his karma to work through. I've tried to read and feel the Tibetan schools, and just can't. Too much mysticism, baggage, and sheer density of words and text. It gets in the way. Tibetan interpretations of the Heart Sutra, for example, are like turning sonnets into detailed manuals. They are didactic and rigid, to my mind. I have huge respect for Thich Nhat Hanh. His writing and representation of mind seem both incisive and subtle.
Music rec: Thee Hypnotics - Soul Trader
His horniness needs to retire imo
First of all, I am not a Tibetan Buddhist or a Dalai Lama fanboy (I actually prefer Chan and Zen, although I like Dzogchen).
Second, with all due respect (I have bought several of your books and regularly watch your videos), do your reputation a favor and please don't talk about things you don't personally know about. Tibetan Buddhism is a combination of what in Japanese Buddhism is Tiantai, Mikkyō, and Zen (although the degree of depth of meditation is closer to Chan's Silent Illumination, which has more steps than Shikantaza). The education he received would not have been just theoretical, academic study of the above. Tibetan monks receive very rigorous education on all levels, from theory to practice: much deeper and wider and more involved than I've seen in Zen.
Dalai Lama wrote many books and have given many oral lessons (some recorded on UA-cam) on Dzogchen and Mahamudra and obviously practices daily (you can look up his daily regimen). And have been doing so for a long time. You should look Dzogchen and Mahamudra up by the way: they are pretty close to Zen (and likewise position themselves as the new evolution of Mahayana). Tibetan Buddhism is not all "visualize weird stuff with your eyes closed".
He also wrote many books on the interface of Buddhism and science, culture, etc. Which one may or may not be a fan of.
Tibetan Buddhism may not be your cup of tea and you may resent what you believe is unearned and disproportionate level of fame DL has, but to say he doesn't know much about Buddhism and is merely a political puppet is just stupid.
Having said that, he's definitely also a political figure, a religious figure (like the Pope), and a "telku", which is all weird and creates an opportunity for corruption.
And this incident was definitely fucked up.
Thank you very much. Excellent summing it up
great 👍
So that’s why you didn’t respond to my email from a month ago? 😂 First, former Tibetan Buddhist here … been (Soto) Zen now for 5 years … saw the Dalai Lama twice, and made pilgrimages to Nepal and India. First, he knows a lot about Buddhism and was pretty much forced into being a political figure by the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Second, this whole “controversy” is contrived … the video is awkward, but nothing perverse. Third, I left Tibetan Buddhism because many see him as “divine” and treat him as such, and that never felt right to me. Much more at home in Zen!
Nothing perverse???????
@@skyjuke2006 Correct. That’s what I said. Do you have proof otherwise? Did you even research this at all? 🤷🏻
To kiss a child and say suck the tongue, is not a pervert thing?
This is one of the FOOLISH things I ever heard!
It was a stupid thing to do, and i have to agree with the critics saying if it was a Pope or someone like John MacArthur the mainstream media would be going nuts. Obviously you don't watch the media today my friend. I'm new to Zen, somehow through a youtube feed i ran across a video of Shohaku Okumura and have been reading his books for the last 6 months.
What you think about The Dalai Lama is completely ignorant. There’s enough other people in the comments about the depth of his knowledge and realization. You do need to know that the video going around is cropped and edited and is definitely propaganda. If you’re going to do this kind of “deep dive” you should do your research.
"There's enough other people in the comments about the depth of his knowledge and realization." Why even bring up other people in the comments? Sounds like you're just going along with the herd on this one, rather than directly studying these topics yourself. It's clear to me from just a little bit of research, that the Dalai Lama is not a good representation of authentic Buddhism, and I've felt this way for over a decade now. And it's also clear that many of these "people in the comments" are biased towards him for one reason or another or are just truly unaware of the in-authentic nature of Tibetan Buddhism as a whole.
@@jahvarino1770 you have no idea who I am or what I know. And speaking about going along with the herd. Moo much?
@@marcgreene6343 That is true, I don't know who you are or what you know, and we may have our differences and we may not, but regardless I wish you well with much metta! Be well
@@jahvarino1770 🙏
The Dali Llama is a creep 🙄
I've always liked the Salvador Dali Lama best.
I took my three year old daughter to hear him speak. She got upset there were no Llama.
It's troubling to see how many people in these comments are equating "buddhist scholasticism" with Buddhism. Stating that he earned a "geshe degree" or that he has the equivalent of a phd in buddhist "philosophy" therefore he must be a good buddhist practitioner. Buddhism is not an academic study, Buddhism is not a philosophy. What use is having vast academic knowledge or deep philosophical understandings if you're lacking in basic sila(buddhist ethics), such as practicing right speech at the right time, and just knowing how to appropriately conduct oneself in specific circumstances.
Basically your thoughts/actions should be geared towards lessening the suffering of oneself and those around us, or at least being neutral, never behaving mindlessly as to even accidently increase the suffering in oneself or those around. In this case the dalai lama was un-wise in his speech and actions. Though doubtfully a pedophile, he was at the very least behaving inappropriately at the wrong place wrong time. And again just to prove my main point: having an advanced academic degree in buddhist studies/"philosophy" does not prove you know ANYTHING about Buddhism. If one thinks they can take a course, or read a book, or complete a scholastic program or do academic research and then having acquired all this "book" knowledge, they now consider themselves to "understand" Buddhism, that would be completely deluded. Buddhism is a living practice, every day, every moment, no academic books or fancy philosophical theories required! Just living in accordance with Dhamma! IMO in this scenario, asking the little boy to suck your tongue is NOT living in accordance with Dhamma! Metta to all, including the little indian boy, his family and metta to the dalai lama himself! Metta! Metta! Metta!
there were only a few significant dalai lamas though... 1, 5, 13, 14...
Really? That's interesting! So the Dalai Lama isn't always a high position in and of itself? I always assumed it was sort of like being the Pope.
@@HardcoreZen no I think its been a political office since the 5th dalai lama, but most of the dalai lamas died very young 🤷
I think the dalai lama position always was symbolic of a unified tibet... lots of local kings with power, but everyone respected the dalai lamas as a gift from the buddha to defend and protect them. (thats how they think 🤷)
Everyone should watch all the videos to understand and stop slandering others
YES! Everyone should watch every video ever made in order to understand the context of everything anyone has ever said!
I’m sure the Dalai Lama is well educated in Buddhism, although having to deal with politics, you wonder about how pure his practice is.
14:57 it's kind of interesting to see all the "conservatives" denouncing Dalai Lama as a perv when mr Hardcore Zen would expect the "conservatives" to be hypocritical and defend Dalai Lama just to get to the Chinese.
Is that correct? You are criticizing the conservatives for being consistently moral instead of just utilitarian? Isn't there some projection happening here from the part of the "liberals" such as yourself?
Conservatives are hardly exceptionally moral, they virtue-signal with this stuff. ”Oh, think of the children!” - it’s the easiest and laziest way there is… 😅
I'm not sure if I'm a "liberal" anymore. Or a "conservative." I find both sides to be pretty stupid these days. I just think if the rabidly anti-Chinese conservatives understood that they were being played by the Chinese Communist Party they might be reacting differently to this video.
"Weird" is a mild way to describe it. This action is not cool.
Poor guy knows nothing.saddddd
Don't say that about the Dalai Lama! I'm sure he knows SOMETHING!
Are you serious the Dalai Lama is a trained to the level of a geshe, knows much about sutra and tantra, used to do much meditation and ritual. If age has limited his cognition I don’t know but early in his carrier his books were very detailed and in recent decades more superficial towards Buddhists and non Buddhists not sure how much help he receives. He has met with Buddhist leaders in all major traditions. I have found many things he has said over the years as not sounding like a wise man or having to back track his view. It’s always just joking or back tracks insulting the woke crowd. I have no master level gauge. So I’ll watch my own mind and free myself. The cult of personalities I scratch my head. But no one fallows the simple monk. 😮
Is the Dalai Lama pro LGBQT ?
I've never heard HHDL sound off about being staunchly pro or anti anything. What I have heard him say in regard to homosexuality is that it's up to society to determine what's acceptable.
No. He's very conservative, probably shockingly so to his Western admirers.
Beyond all the hype (predictable considering “outrage” culture) I’m sure there is some degree of cultural dissonance. But to be honest, if this is actually him being a creeper, it is about as shocking to me as first hearing the Buddha’s “sexist” discourse on disallowing women to practice. The upset stops at the recognition that they are human. Only their followers ever expected them to be anything more. The dharma presents itself in all aspects of our character, however weird, for better or worse.
Reminds me of the scene from Thumb Wars. ua-cam.com/video/R1NEKS4nfmk/v-deo.html
Sidenote: "His Holiness" is a kind of bad translation of Tibetan honorific "Kyabjé". What it actually means is:
"Kyabjé (Tib. སྐྱབས་རྗེ་, Wyl. skyabs rje) is a mark of respect reserved for the seniormost lamas of the tradition, whose realization and powers are extraordinary."
These transliterations are quite misleading regarding the actual pronounciation. I always thought, there would/should be some reformed system, which would make learning the vernacular easier, but that seems not to be the case.
Actually it literally means something like "protector lord", or "lord of refuge"
If one watches closely at the end the DL playfully slaps the boy away when the boy try's to touch toungs. it's wierd granted, but seems like an out of touch cheecky grandpa being filtered through today's hyperactive sensitivities. And for most news outlets to edit the last few seconds... we'll that shit speaks volumes by itself!😮
🙄.Nothing ‘ cheeky grandpa’ about it at all . He put that innocent little boy in a horrible position ....he should know better given his privileged position of celebrity status . Tone deaf, enabled and living in a very lucrative, well oiled machine of wealth and comfort . Everyone is making excuses for DL & totally ignoring the discomfort of the young boy who was put in this position by his parents .
@@equatorialjourney4478 did you see the interview of the boy and his mother before doing any assumption ?
@@johnjones99124 indeed I did .... I saw a mother projecting her wishes and bias and a young boy being used
A wise person once stated: "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one."
And, in my opinion, instead of listening to others' opinions it's better to seek out genuinely informed source materials.
Professor Robert Thurman has published a UA-cam regarding the "tongue" hullabaloo:
"HH Dalai Lama Archetype of Radical Innocence with Robert Thurman : On The Recent Viral Video"
ua-cam.com/video/f62zivSnTQM/v-deo.html
I saw that. I'm not nearly as certain as Mr Thurman about the Dalai Lama's "radical innocence." He supported cult-leader Shoko Asahara who put poison on the Tokyo subway system, and the leader of the NXIVM cult who branded women, and he has accepted a lot of money from the CIA over the years. There is definitely a dark side to "His Holiness" that people like Mr Thurman prefer to ignore. "Informed source" indeed! Still, in this case, as I said clearly in this video, I don't think the Dalai Lama is a pervert.
Ok, all of you are wrong
1. A teacher needs to be trusted by the student, or the student won't listen.
2. As Dogen wrote, is a man reaching for his pillow in the middle of the night no eyes and all hands or all hands and no eye.
3. This is what happens when you don't have a Panchen Lama.
4. Siddhartha was very clear, do not make people into deities.
The most ridiculous thing:
his holiness!!! (In the social)
Maybe this is the end of many Buddhist communities.
My solidarity to Brad. I didn't like many comments.
Wow. The arrogance of some youtuber who meditates 20 minutes a day putting hiself above the Dalai Lama.
More like an hour a day.
Yeah, people read too much into this incident. There's so much to criticize such him endorsing a NXIVM murderous cult member. He did this because of a generous donation, which is another problem. But show me systematic child abuse and I'll take this clip seriously.
The Dalai Lama is an extremely versed scholar in Tibetan/Vajrayana Buddhism. I have read some of his more in depth books on the topic. His sect known as the Gelug is the scholarly debating style monastic sect in Tibetan Buddhism. For several years, I was attending a center with a Tibetan monk of that sect. They are bit too obsessed with the scholarly debating approach in my opinion. The Dalai Lama is also not much of a politician from what I've seen. More of an ambassador or spokesperson for the Tibetan cause. Just saying.
BTW I'm currently reading your book, It Came From Beyond Zen, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. 👍
Don't trust this guy, watch all the videos
Yeah. Don't trust the Dalai Lama!
I don’t know who knows that you aren’t into politics.
Dalai Lama is leaving Buddha if u don’t know.
#istandwithdalailama 🙏
This seems to be more of a cultural misunderstanding than anything else. His behavior is consistent with how Tibetans act towards children and it is not sexual in nature. If you think the Dalai Lama doesn’t know anything about Buddhism you are a fool…but I like you anyway 😊.
Thanks for liking me even though I'm a fool!
The whole incident is troubling and I am not a Chinese bot. It reminds me not to put anyone on a pedestal.
Brad, your comment about the Dalai Lama not knowing much about Buddhism is shockingly ignorant and somewhat arrogant. He has attained mastery within The Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions through sutra study, debate, retreat practice, apprenticeship, etc. from the age of three. He wakes up at 4:00 and practices for several hours every morning. He has led hundreds of retreats and initiations and has spent a lifetime serving not only his people but providing teaching, guidance and support To countless people all over the world.
We live in a time of cancel culture. Taking an isolated incident and making wild accusations and dismissing decades of teaching and service... There has never been any previous accusations of child molestation or anything of the sort. I agree it was a weird thing to say but he is a human being and people do fuck up from time to time. Generating wisdom and compassion is the foundation of the Buddhadharma. Let’s practice a little bit of that eh?
🙏🏼
Well, maybe. But he's also been accused of taking a lot of money from the CIA to fund guerrilla operations and of a lot of other unsavory stuff. I'm just not very impressed with anything I've heard him say about Buddhism.
Isolated INCIDENT????
Brad it's better that you CLOSE this comment section. It's full of absurdities.
The audacity here is beyond mind blowing. It's like you are proud of your ignorance, absolutely blown away by this video
What! No mention of how uncomfortable that poor innocent young lad felt ? I think it’s very obvious who was being audacious & ignorant . That’s what happens after years of being elevated to guru celebrity status ...tone deaf; echo chamber where he feels beyond reproach. Surrounded by enablers and sycophantic worshippers . He knows how lucrative cults can be & he’s enjoyed the long comfortable ride . Let’s see where history delegates his spiritual , political and social import in the next 100yrs 🙄
@@equatorialjourney4478 I should be clear, I was refering to the part about Dalai Lama being a politician, not knowing much about Buddhism.
@@selviskk I know what you meant ..... but your need to clarify it makes my comment even MORE relevant . Stop w the armchair nit picking /academic philosophising of who or what the DL best represents and look at the glaring reality of this modern day , very lucrative duplicitous gravy train he has enjoyed for decades . All cults count on gullible devotees upon whom to weave & hone their snakeoil craft . The old adage ‘ there’s a sucker born every minute ‘ is the only unalterable fact they need in order to spin the Cult formulaic smoke & mirrors . It’s as old as time & thriving better than ever in this world of far reaching social media . And we think we are discerning 🙄🤨
Maybe you should stay out of politics. The depth it requires to comment seriously on it requires a fair amount of research. Not that you couldn't do it, but it would probably detract from your other content.
Don't worry!
Wisdom Publications was founded by Lama Yeshe…a Gelugpa monk who is partly responsible for getting the Dali Lama to tour the world back in the day. Since the Dalai Lama is head of the Gelugpa order, I can see why they wouldn’t “appreciate” your attempt at a joke…(!)🫢