EMPOWERMENT
His Happiness* the Dalai Lama visits the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland
Words and photos by Terry Bishop T
he Dalai Lama came to visit our neighbour, Chenrezig Buddhist Institute, last Thursday. That was a double dose of excitement for me, as he landed his chopper on
one of the lower paddocks of the Worldview property. He was almost 40 minutes early – so I wasn’t there to greet him, but that’s okay. He is my favourite person on all the planet. So I feel super lucky that I even had the chance to offer him the small service of using ‘my’ land for his helipad. Then he talked for a couple of hours to a
crowd of about 3,500 souls. This message is to share some of that so that we might all take something away from the coolest dude on the planet visiting our little neck of the woods. Lyndon Davis and company from the
Gubbi Gubbi tribe gave a terrific welcome to country. His Holiness was utterly captivated by the music, and that they were virtually naked on a sunny but still quite cold day. One of his first messages was to express gratitude for indigenous folk everywhere for their deep connection to the land and for reminding we Westerners of the need to live in harmony with nature. As usual, his overall message was one of
hope and optimism, but he took great care to ground that optimism in solid reasoning.
6 JULY 2011
Due to technological
advancement, the destruction from our digressions is much more serious, even though wilful digressions are less frequent overall.
He recalled a conversation he had with the Queen Mother where he asked her, “Do you think things are getting better or worse in the world?”, to which she replied immediately “Oh, MUCH better!”. And that is from a woman who lived through two world wars and the most destructive century in all of history. The Dalai Lama agrees wholeheartedly. What is getting better is that, overall,
”
people are much more awake, more sensitive to each other’s needs and the needs of the planet. These days we enjoy the benefits of the civil rights movement, feminism, the environmental movement, affirmative action for minorities, universal education rights, widespread healthcare,
“ ✤
His Holiness was dubbed ‘His Happiness’ by nine year-old Arran Gneist who attended the event with his mother and brother. He said it was because he liked his jokes and smiles.
much greater comfort and security, etc., none of which existed 100 years ago. He noted though that, due to technological advancement, the destruction from our digressions is much more serious, even though wilful digressions are less frequent overall. I would add that these days also, we are made much more aware of every little digression through the shock-tactics of global media, where a century ago a whole war or famine could happen without our ever hearing about it. He also mentioned rampant materialism
that is taking a toll on the environment. He spoke for some time on the idea that, once upon a time, religions provided a framework for the ethical consideration of the consequences of new technologies, but the scientific mind now rejects religion in all its forms, and as a result we have lost our ethical boundaries to guide us on how we should use the steady wave of new technologies. He said we do not need religions to give us ethics, but we badly need what he called ‘secular ethics’… that we must ask the question, ‘What does my use of this technology mean to the wellbeing of all people and all living things?’. In the absence of those ethics in
the public domain, it falls on each of us to take responsibility for making the best choices we can with the information we have. There were a few times there where he
looked directly at our local federal MP sitting in the front row when speaking of widespread corruption in politics. While I do not imagine that was personally directed at him, he was rather suggesting that politicians everywhere need to lift their game and become the guardians of such ethics and take a longer term view of their decisions. What went through my mind was coal seam gas (fracking technology), with billions of dollars on offer for Queensland, but with a long-term environmental cost that future generations (of all species) will have to pay. If you are inspired to drive that message home to the Hon. Mr Slipper, his email address is Peter.
Slipper.MP@
aph.gov.au. He spent some time talking about
neuroscience, and how new technology now proves beyond a doubt that optimism, calmness, gratitude and care for others is actually better for your health… they all lower blood pressure, improve mental functioning and increase personal
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