Today is the 15th day of the 5th Lunar Month. It is also the birthday weekend of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama – His Holiness celebrates his 85th birthday tomorrow on 6 July 2020.
Spending some time to reflect on this joyous occasion, it dawned on me that His Holiness means so many different things to different people, and I thought I might share a few of my observations.
To Tibetans around the world, he is the living emanation of Guanyin (Chn), or Chenresig (Tib)/ Avalokiteshvara (Skrt), and the embodiment of the Buddha’s compassion. As many are aware, Chenresig is the patron deity of Tibet. In the 60 years or so that he has been in India, His Holiness’ teachings have carried the teachings of our Lord Buddha across the world at an unprecedented speed, something which no one would have imagined to be possible during the time of Lord Buddha himself.
To those who may have no nexus to or knowledge of Buddhist teachings, His Holiness is known for his active participation in inter-faith dialogue, and for his emphasis on the oneness of humanity, the importance of all religions to peace on earth, and the need for all humanity to respect those of all religious faiths, as well as those with none.
To the most learned amongst us, His Holiness is a man of vast and profound wisdom, matched with a clarity of mind that enables him to articulate the most complex of the sutras and concepts (even when conversing in his 2nd language, English!). This has taken His Holiness into dialogue leaders in the fields of medical science, astrophysics, and cosmology, amongst others, working with them to investigate the psychology of the human mind, and the Buddhist concept of reincarnation. As Buddhist and scientific exchanges continue apace, the words of our Lord Buddha from over 2,500 years ago have increasingly been shown to be consistent with modern science.
His Holiness is at the same time a reformer and an adherent of the purest teachings of our Lord Buddha, as transmitted to Tibet from the Nalanda tradition in India. His Holiness has tirelessly commissioned the cross checking of sutras translated into Tibetan from Pali and Sanskrit originals, with a view to avoiding a situation where Tibetan Buddhists blindly follow practices that may have been functions of ethnicity and other extraneous influences. This reminds me of the admonitions of Lord Buddha himself, not to believe in his words and accept them simply because they were uttered by the Enlightened One himself, but to always test those words just as goldsmith would test his gold by burning, cutting and rubbing.
We are indeed fortunate to be living on this earth here and now with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, so may I invite all of you to join me in creating and dedicating all merits on this important occasion, in whatever way we can, to His Holiness – may His Holiness have a long and healthy life, and long may His Holiness continue to guide us sentient beings. May all of you be well and happy.
Geshe Lama Konchok
今天是农历五月十五。这也是十四世达赖喇嘛的生日周末——达赖喇嘛将于2020年7月6日庆祝85岁生日。
在反思这个欢乐的时刻时，我突然意识到，对不同的人来说，尊者的神圣意义是如此之多，我想我可以分享一些我的观察。
对全世界的藏民来说，他是观音，或观世音(Skrt)的化现，是佛陀慈悲的化身。正如许多人所知道的，观音是西藏的守护神。在他到印度的60年左右的时间里，他的教导以前所未有的速度将我们的佛主的教导传遍了全世界，这在佛的时代是没有人能想象得到的。
对那些没有佛教知识的人来说, 他著称于积极参与不同信仰间对话, 强调人类的大同性,地球上所有的宗教和平的重要性,尊重所有的宗教信仰者,以及那些无宗教信仰者。
对我们当中最有学问的人来说，尊者是一位有着博大精深的智慧的人，他的头脑清晰，使他能够清晰地说出最复杂的佛经和概念(即使是在用他的第二语言——英语交谈的时候!)这使他成为医学和天体物理学等领域的对话领袖，与他们一起研究人类心理和佛教的转世概念。随着佛教与科学交流的迅速进行，我们的佛祖2500多年前说过的话越来越符合现代科学。
他是从印度那烂陀传统传入西藏的佛陀最纯粹教导的改革者和信徒。例如，尊者不知疲倦地委托对从巴利和梵文原稿翻译成藏文的佛经进行交叉核对，以避免藏传佛教徒盲目遵循可能受到种族和其他外来影响的做法。这让我想起了佛陀本人的告诫，不要仅仅因为自己说过，就相信和接受他的话，而是要像金匠一样，通过燃烧、切割和摩擦来检验金子。
我们确实是很幸运的，能与十四世达赖喇嘛生活在同一时代, 所以我邀请你们与我一起在这个重要的场合,以任何方式,将福德回向圣者， 愿尊者健康长寿,继续指引我们众生。祝你们幸福安康。
格西喇嘛坤秋。