DL = the Dalai Lama, whose upcoming visit to NYC does seem to be a bit on the downlow.  I’ve asked a bunch of young buddhists and other interested folks, and most have no idea he’s coming round again. He’ll be at the Beacon Theatre, Monday, May 4, teaching two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Check tibethouse.org for info. Tickets available via my least favorite vendor.
What does it mean to go see the Dalai Lama? Who exactly is this guy?
He’s not the leader of all buddhists. He’s not the pope of Tibet.  The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan monks, and there are other lineages. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. His official biography is here, on his site; the Wikipedia entry is a little scattered, and you can Google search him as well as I.
The Dalai Lama appears in New York City and teaches on Tibetan Buddhist writings every coupla years. But there’s certainly a lot more going on. Tickets to his teachings are expensive. He’s a political hot potato. And he’s kind of a rockstar.
Talking about his appearances always makes me feel like I’m talking about some kind of massive concert extravaganza: for example, I can say  “I saw the Dalai Lama at a sold-out 3-day stand at the Beacon Theatre.” I can insert “the Allman Bros.” in place of the direct object in that last sentence, and I’d have an equally true sentence.
He’s hot politically, for reasons related to the Chinese domination of Tibet, the Chinese government’s unyielding opposition to the Tibetan government in exile, questions of succession, of how the rest of the world treats him and whether the Chinese can affect that, and more.
And many Tibetan Buddhists believe he is the current incarnation of Chenrezig, or Avalokiteshvara, the buddha of compassion. Quite a heady brew.
Nevertheless, I am going to see him again because I think he’s a really interesting teacher. At the Beacon, he taught on a Tibetan mahayana work called “The Wheel of Sharp Weapons,” a lojong, or mind training, text that powerfully urges the listener to examine the delusion of self, of self-grasping and self-clinging, with some vivid imagery. The handouts were great, and his teaching, translated on the spot, seemed precise, clear, and powerful. I read this about that text online: “Atisha transmitted these teachings to hBrom-ston-pa in order to pacify the minds of the disciples of remote Tibet who ware difficult to tame.” I did wonder about the DL’s view of his audience and the choice of teaching; are the disciples of remote America difficult to tame, as well?
This time he’s teaching on Chandrakirti’s opening to the madhyamaka opus, “Introduction to the Middle Way.” Per Tibet House, in that work “the great sage of Nalanda University pays homage to compassion above all, and gives a beautiful simile about the three types of great compassion, using the image of the moon reflected in the water of a pond.”
I had to laugh–my refuge vow name, or whatever it is called, has some reference to moon and lake in it. So when I read that last line, I’m all like, “Moon, Pond. Hmm. That’s interesting. To me!” I guess I better go read that “Wheel of Sharp Weapons” again. And I suspect the mind of this self-grasping American may be about as difficult to pacify as those of the long-ago disciples in remote Tibet.
See you at the show?