Editor’s note: The following is a report on a recent talk by the Dalai Lama from reader Noah Well, who generously decided to take notes and type them up to share with me and with all of you. Thank you, Noah, for sharing this with us. I thought all of you would enjoy it as the Dalai Lama expresses some interesting observations that relate to things we’ve discussed here on Zen Habits … especially interesting to me were the questions and answers at the end.
On April 13, 2008 the University of Washington in Seattle conveyed to His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Although the capacity of the arena was over 65,000, tickets were offered to all the colleges in the state and went extremely quickly. As a Seattle University College of Law student, I jumped in the queue as quickly as possible, and was lucky to get a ticket. I almost didn’t go actually; the event conflicted with two of my classes, and at the end of the term, those can be important. Nonetheless, friends told me to attend, succinctly asking “How often do you have a chance to hear the Dalai Lama?” Looking back, I’m certainly glad I attended.
I took these notes for a few reasons. My girlfriend wasn’t able to make the event, and so I wanted to share with her the ideas offered. But there was also Leo at Zen Habits. I’m a great fan of his journal, and wanted to be able to give something back for all his hard work. Hopefully the readers will be able to use some portion of the ideas presented here. I’ll admit right now I was quite taken with the Dalai Lama himself and his message, and plan on further exploring these concepts.
After some introductions by the presidents and regents of various universities, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama entered to heavy and sustained applause. Before speaking, he clasped his hands together and bowed to the honoraries behind him and to the audience surrounding the stage. After the presentation of his honorary doctorate, the Dalai Lama began his speech in Chinese, which was surprising since I always thought he spoke strong English. His interpreter translated his initial portion, which were expressions of gratitude to all the students and university folk who had come out, as well as his thanks for such a prestigious award. His English did turn out to be excellent, which led me to believe he only began in Chinese because his thankfulness was the most important part of his speech, and hence the most important to convey correctly.
When he began speaking in earnest, I was struck by a number of things. As mentioned, his English is quite strong(although not perfect, below). He’s got a great speaking voice, which is to be expected considering his position. But what I most appreciated listening to him was his sense of humor. He conveyed great wit up there, and was almost always smiling. As he accepted his honorary doctorate, he said he felt humbled being in front of so many learned people, and praised education in general. “But if you do seek a degree, being presented an honorary one is certainly how I recommend it”.
After the initial thanks and well-wishes were dispensed, his Holiness began by reflecting on the previous century. He spoke of the technological and social advancements, but also of the preeminence of war across the globe. He reminded everyone that the people who bring war always have high hopes in creating a better future, but their violence only creates violence. He spoke on the new generation, the students in front of him for example, bringing an end to global violence. Violence and war are our creations, he noted, and thus under our control to solve. Live happily, and understand conflict can be defeated without violence. One must exercise real power in future conflicts, which is based on dialogue and respect. Then, he stated, can the cycle of violence be broken.
The Dalai Lama’s speech in general wove around three points, the external world like the message above, the internal spirit, and the interdependency of all people. On that interdependency, he spoke on all people being connected, and their flourishing allowing us all to prosper. Helping one person helps yourself, helping one country helps yours, helping one continent helps your own, etc. By the same token, the destruction of your enemy is the destruction of yourself; your enemy is a part of yourself. Thus, war is outdated as it can only lead to mutual destruction.
I felt the Dalai Lama’s most salient and applicable points were those that related to one’s inner self. First was a determined, focused effort to refrain from negative emotions: hate, anger, and fear. The goal is to instinctively refrain from harm and keeping a sedate heart. While a person may say they are for peace, if they have inner turmoil and negative emotions, they only pay lip service to the aims of peace.
True global peace begins with inner peace, and inner peace comes from a deep respect for all sentient beings, along with knowledge the future rests with them. Excise negative emotions, and along the way, learn to dismiss negative emotions as they arise, so they do not disturb your inner strength.
The Dalai Lama also spoke on the attachment that arises from negative emotions. When we are young, (I don’t know if he was referring to physically young or technologically young), we use fear and anger to survive. But now that we have grown up, the negativity swamps our intelligence, our respect, and our happiness. Negativity also destroys our sleep and our appetite. In this way negative emotions hurt us physically as well as mentally. It was noted that confrontation was inevitable, but confrontation and life can exist without anger and hatred. One should confront, deal, and live always with a smile.
The Dalai Lama expressed deep respect for education, but noted that the process must include a moral education as well. He noted that ethics and morality can come from religion or secular sources; ethics are a universal truth. Once we have learned ethics and respect, and have truly embraced internal disarmament, external disarmament would come.
The Dalai Lama took some questions from the audience at this point:
Q: What is the simplest, most effective act of compassion?
A: Paying more attention to your inner world. The tenets of Buddhism allow those to examine our inner realm. One must be compassionate to one’s self before external compassion.
Q: What is your vision for the world in the next few decades?
A: With effort, a more friendly world. Less of a gap between the rich and the poor. People of color will have the confidence in themselves to know they can achieve as much as anyone else, and will take on the training and education to fulfill these opportunities and prove each person the same. Overall, ideally, a more compassionate world.
Q: How do you show compassion to those who have hurt others?
A: With understanding. Understanding the relationship between all living things allows unbiased compassion to all others. People who have hurt others particularly need compassion for two reasons. One, they work against your goal for overarching peace. Secondly, they are probably hurt themselves as they hurt others, so they need more compassion to heal their hurt within.
Q: How do we balance compassion for others and compassion for the planet?
A: The moon looks like a nice place from Earth, but we cannot settle there. This is our home. Some things are beyond our control, perhaps global warming has some influence with the alignment of the planets. Yet we do have control over many things and our behavior, good and bad, has an effect. We will not notice the degradation until things have collapsed. Therefore, we must work as part of our daily lives to maintain and appreciate the Earth. To this extent, I no longer take baths, only showers[all laugh].
And at this point the Dalai Lama made his exit with much thanks, to thunderous applause. My take was a brilliant public speaker, clearly with some important messages. The Dalai Lama had amazing awareness.
I mentioned he spoke excellent English, and it is true. A few points during his speech or Q&A, there was a word he wanted to use but did not know the English translation. He would give his line, and on the gap with the unknown word, would ask his interpreter, receive the translation, and continue. I was very impressed with the way he never actually misspoke; any opportunity that would be error was deftly handled so his words proceeded apace. His awareness of his skills and limitations were such that the audience knew of the gaps of his knowledge without being affected by them.
Besides his clear public speaking skills, one got the impression he was having fun up there. Serious topics sure, but nothing so heavy that he couldn’t crack wise when the situation came up. His wisdom, gratitude, and simple joy made the entire presentation eminently approachable and persuasive. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be said to this group, but I recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to listen to him speak. You will be glad you made the trip.
译文:
与达赖喇嘛关于慈悲的问答
编者按：以下是读者Noah Well带来的与达赖喇嘛最近的一次对话，他慷慨地决定将其记录下来并与你我分享。Noah，谢谢你的共享。达赖喇嘛表达了一些与我们在Zen Habits（译注：国外一个著名博客）上所讨论话题相关的看法，很有意思，我相信大家都会兴味盎然……最后的问答部分尤其吸引我的注意。
2008年4月13日，西雅图华盛顿大学授予了十四世达赖喇嘛人文科学荣誉博士学位。尽管大剧场能容纳超过65000人，出售给该州所有大学的门票还是被一抢而空。作为西雅图大学法学院的学生，我火速加入了长队，并幸运地买到了一张票。我差点没去成，因为这次盛事与我的两门课冲突，而且到了期末，上课变得至关重要。但朋友们都劝我参加，他们只问了我一句简单的话：“你多久才有机会听一次达赖喇嘛的演讲？”回想起来，我真庆幸自己参加了。
我记笔记是出于以下几个原因：我的女朋友没能参加，所以我想和她分享自己所听到的想法；同时还有Zen Habits的Leo，我是他日志的忠实粉丝，我希望能对他的辛勤工作给予一些回报。希望读者们能用到其中的一些感悟。我得承认我已经为达赖喇嘛本人和他的启迪而折服，并打算进一步探索这些概念。
在几所大学的校长和董事所做的介绍后，丹增嘉措，第十四世达赖喇嘛在热烈而持续的掌声中入场了。在讲话之前，他双手交握向身后的荣誉授予人和舞台四周的观众鞠躬致敬。在被授予荣誉博士之后，达赖喇嘛用汉语开始演讲，这很出乎我的意料，我以为他的英语说得很好。翻译将他演讲的第一部分译出，是对于出席的学生和教职工表示感谢，同时也感谢本次馈赠。他的英语确实很出色，我相信他以汉语开场只是因为表达谢意是他演说中最重要的部分，因此最需要正确的表达。
当他诚挚地开始演说时，有几件事给我留下了深刻的印象。首先如前所述，他的英语很好（尽管并不完美）。他的演讲声音极佳，鉴于他的地位，这也在意料之中。但我最欣赏的部分是他的幽默感。他表现出高度的智慧，并总是微笑着。当他接受荣誉学位是，他说他在这么多饱学之士面前自惭形秽，对教育加以赞扬，“但如果你想要一个学位，我还是推荐获赠荣誉学位这个渠道。”
在开场的致谢和祝福之后，他开始对上个世纪进行回顾。他讲到了技术与社会的进步，但也提及了战争在全世界的优势。他提醒所有人，凡是带来战争者无不抱有创造美好未来的崇高希望，但他们的暴力只能创造暴力。他讲到新的一代，比如他面前的这些学生，正为全球暴力画上句号。他解释说，暴力与战争是我们的创造，因此也应在我们的控制下得到解决。快乐地生活，并懂得争端可以通过和平方式解决。在未来的争端中，人们必须行使基于对话与尊重的真正的力量，他表示这样才能打破暴力的循环。
达赖喇嘛的演讲总体上围绕着三个主题：如上文中所说那样的外部世界，内在的精神，以及全人类的互相依赖。关于互相依赖，他讲到所有人都彼此联系，他人的繁荣使我们得以兴旺。助人即是助己，帮助他国即是帮助本国，帮助一个大洲就是帮助自己的大洲，依此类推。同理，摧毁你的敌人也就是摧毁自己；你的敌人也是你自身的一部分。战争已然过时，因为它只会导致互相毁灭。
我觉得达赖喇嘛最突出和最实用的观点是那些关于人们的内心自我的。首先是努力去坚定、专注地克制负性情绪：憎恨、愤怒和恐惧。目标是本能地避免伤害，保持一颗宁静的心。一个人可能会说自己支持和平，但如果他们的内心存在着动荡与负面情绪，和平于他们不过是口头功夫。
世界和平始于内心和平，而内心和平来自于对所有有知觉的生命的尊敬，并清楚未来正取决于他们。剪除负面情绪，并自始至终学习如何在负面情绪产生时将之驱散，使之无法扰乱你内心的力量。
达赖喇嘛也讲到负面情绪带来的赠品。在我们年幼时，（我不知道他指的是生理上的年幼还是技术上的幼稚），我们利用恐惧和愤怒来生存。但现在我们已经长大了，消极情绪淹没了我们的理智、我们的尊敬和我们的快乐。消极情绪也破坏了我们的睡眠和食欲。从这点来看消极情绪不光在精神上，也在生理上损害着我们。对抗确实难以避免，但对抗与生活可以远离愤怒与憎恶而存在。一个人应当总是微笑着抗争、应对、以及生活。
达赖喇嘛对教育表现出深深的敬意，但强调其中必须包括道德教育。他认为伦理道德可以来源于宗教或世俗，而伦理是普遍的真理。一旦我们学会了伦理与尊重，并真正信奉应在内心解除武装，那么外部的裁军就会到来。
达赖喇嘛在这一点上回答了观众的几个问题：
问：慈悲最简单有效的行动是什么？
答：给予内心世界更多关注。佛家的教义允许我们探究自己的内心疆域。一个人只有对自己慈悲，才能对外界慈悲。
问：你眼中未来几十年的世界是什么样？
答：经过努力，这将是一个更友好的世界。贫富差距缩小。有色人种更加自信，知道他们能和其他人取得一样的成就，能获得教育与培训以实现机会，并证明众生平等。总而言之，在理想中这是个更有同情心的世界。
问：对于那些伤害别人的人，怎样显示你的慈悲？
答：理解。理解众生之间的关系才能对他人抱有一视同仁的慈悲。伤害他人的人更应得到同情，这有两个原因：第一，他们和你达到和平的目的相抵触。第二，他们在伤害别人的同时可能也伤害了自己，所以他们需要更多的慈悲来治疗内心的伤害。
问：我们怎样平衡对他人的慈悲与对这个星球的慈悲？
答：从地球上看，月亮是个美好的地方，但我们无法在那里居住。这里是我们的家园。有些事在我们的掌控之外，也许全球变暖受到行星间排列的影响。但我们也可以控制许多事，我们的行为无论好坏都具有影响。在事态崩溃之前我们难以注意到逐步的恶化，因此，我们必须将维护和感激地球作为日常生活的一部分。在这个意义上，我不再泡澡，而只洗淋浴（全场大笑）。
这时，达赖喇嘛在雷鸣般的掌声中连声致谢着退场。我认为他是个才华横溢的演说家，并带来了重要的信息。达赖喇嘛确具高知卓见。
我曾提到他的英语很好，这一点千真万确。但他的演讲和问答阶段中，有几次他想用一个词，却不知道英语的翻译是什么，他会讲出想说的话，到不确定的词时停下来去问翻译以获得正确的说法，然后再继续。这种绝不犯错的方法给我留下了深刻的印象；每一次可能犯错的机会都被巧妙地解决，所以他的词汇才会快速增长。他对自己技巧和缺陷如此自知，以至于观众明知他的知识漏洞，却不会受其影响。
除了他显著的公众演讲技巧，他也给人以风趣的印象。尽管是如此严肃的话题，但却不至于沉重到使他在讨论时无法谈笑风生。他的智慧、感恩、以及单纯的愉悦使整场赠予仪式非常亲切而有说服力。也许在这里这么说有些多余，但我推荐所有有条件的人听一听他的演讲，你会为这次旅途感到喜悦无胜。
注：本译作只代表原作者观点。