The Dalai Lama
Today should be broken into 3 parts: Morning, Teachings, Exiting
Morning:
So, Marlee and I were up by 7 AM to get ready for the teachings. We were told to be there between 8 and 8:30. Well, we got there around 8:15 I’d guess. The teachings started at 9:30 but one of the highlights is seeing His Holiness enter.
Well, I am not kidding when I tell you there were thousands of people in one big giant cluster eff. It was like crowd surfing on the ground - I could’ve lifted my feet and still moved. There is so much irony in the idea that Buddhists are so peaceful yet they throw bows left and right in lines (or lack thereof).
We finally made our way to the Foreigners line - we definitely skipped some people, jumped over some things, and threw a few bows of our own. You know, when in India, do as the Indians do. (Even though most of these people were Tibetan, we’ll pretend it was okay.)
We were then sent into a line of men and women. The line of women was twice as long as the men but the women line did not move for at least 45 minutes. There was one man operating the lines and he continued to let the line of men move on.
At one point, he was pulling women out of the mens’ line and I watched him physically and very forcefully push 3 Nun’s. NUNS!!!
Well, we got up there and you weren’t allowed to bring cameras or phones, etc. I had forgotten to take my camera out of my bag, but I figured it was fine since it was completely dead. I did try to conceal it a little bit but he found it and wanted me to “leave it with a shopkeeper.” Sir, you have to be joking me. It would be sold in 10 minutes. So, I asked if I could hide it. He said they weren’t responsible but I didn’t really see any other option - so I did hide it. Thank Goodness Marlee told me to take out the SIM card and battery, because when I came back my camera was gone. Again, so much irony in someone stealing at the Dalai Lama teachings. I am pretty bummed out 1) because I can’t afford to replace it but more importantly because it was a gift and that really sucks. So, to whoever has my camera - karma is coming for ya!
Teachings:
When we scoped out our seats, we did so in the English section in case our headsets didn’t work so we could still understand the translator (good thing our headsets work because there was no live translator).
We got a glimpse of His Holiness as he entered and when we sat we realized we were 1) less than 75 feet from His Holiness, and 2) had a perfect direct angle of him and were actually WATCHING him speak.
Among the things he covered were compassion, the after-life, a brief overview of some other religions and my favorite was the Eight Verses. I will post it later - all about how to transform our thinking. Ironically, he covered karma and us separating ourselves from things (i.e. my camera), but for the record - I would rather someone have stolen some of my David Yurman jewelry than my camera because a camera captures memories and I love(d) my camera.
After our lunch break, Marlee and I were pushing it time wise which happened to be the best thing that could’ve happened to us because as the Dalai Lama re-entered the Temple, we were 10 feet away. My eyes watered. He is so adorable (I know that sounds ridiculous but you see him 10 feet away from you and tell me you don’t have the same reaction) and so peaceful.
Now, I don’t consider myself a religious person so it should be noted that sitting with thousands of people for 2 hours and then 3 hours, cross-legged, is unbelievably uncomfortable but let me tell you, when the Dalai Lama speaks, you listen.
So, listen I did. His Holiness is powerful - I’ll leave it at that.
Exiting:
As the Dalai Lama exited, we again caught a glimpse. Then, we stood to exit ourselves. I’m pretty sure I was violated from every direction before we even got out of our section. And after that, I am pretty sure my feet didn’t touch the floor until we got to the bottom of the stairs. These people love them some time to push and time to get out of line. Maybe it’s because they ARE so peaceful and calm all the time - big crowds of people gives them a semi-socially acceptable time to buck and to violate and to WILD OUT!
