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Tibetan monk explains institution of Dalai Lama |
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February 23, 2007 |
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Lobsang Norbu Shastri stood, clicking the mouse of his laptop, and turned, smiling at the PowerPoint that was displayed on the wall behind him. Shastri began his lecture with a traditional Buddhist prayer and then joked about his seemingly paradoxical situation. "This is the product [of the exchange program] that you see, a Tibetan monk, using a Macintosh, [giving] a Powerpoint," Shastri laughed along with his enthralled audience.
Last Tuesday, Feb.13, at 7 p.m. in Hillyer Hall marked the first of 12 lectures put on by Smith and Hampshire Colleges in preparation for the visit from His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Each week the lectures will be held at the same time, but will alternate between Hampshire and Smith campuses. Shastri serves as the director of the translation and research department at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in India. This year he is a visiting professor of philosophy at Smith and Hampshire colleges as part of the annual academic exchange of the Five College Tibetan Studies Program.
The topic of Shastri's lecture Tuesday night was "The Institution of the Dalai Lama." He covered over a thousand years of history, summing up the important highlights of each Dalai Lama's contributions to the world, to Buddhism and to Tibet, beginning with the first Dalai Lama, Gendun Drubpa, who lived from 1391 to 1474. Shastri explained that the words Dalai Lama literally mean "Ocean of Wisdom," and that the Dalai Lama is not only a spiritual but also a temporal head whom Tibetans respect and believe to be reincarnated in each successive Dalai Lama. Shastri focused most of his attention, however, on the current Dalai Lama, who is notable for his religious, academic and political contributions to the world.
According to Shastri, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet has three main commitments in his life. The first is his commitment as a human being, to the human race and to encourage individual happiness. The second is his commitment to promote religious harmony throughout the world. Even though the Dalai Lama himself is a Tibetan Buddhist, he encourages other religions, because, according to Shastri, "all religions have the same potential to create good human beings." His third commitment, which Shastri notes will end when Tibet is free, is to the issue of Tibet. The Dalai Lama is expected to act as a free spokesperson of Tibetans throughout their struggle for democracy.
Evidently, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has succeeded in focusing fully on all three of the above commitments. In 1989 the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet, as well as for his regard for global environmental issues. Throughout his life, the Dalai Lama has traveled to over 62 countries, meeting with political leaders to encourage their support for the issue of Tibet. He has received 84 awards, merits and prizes for his work and has also authored 72 books. Shastri smiled as he stated, "Yet his Holiness describes himself as 'a simple Buddhist monk.'"
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has been the main political spokesperson for Tibet since he was 16 years old. Although he has made numerous political charters and plans for peace, the Chinese government is still in control of Tibet and there continue to be tens of thousands of Tibetans in exile worldwide. While the Dalai Lama is doing his best to foster Tibetan culture under these extenuating circumstances, according to Shastri, "time is running out for Tibet."
The next lecture in this series will take place Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in Neilson Browsing Room. Shastri will speak on Tibetan Buddhism. |
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