Saturday, May 09, 2009

Dalai Lama Foxboro May 2009: Warm Heart-Calm Mind

The Dalai Lama spent a few days in Boston, and Cecelia and I were able to go to see him in Foxboro at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. Thought I would try and herald his Holiness’s message. Call us the Modern Day Quicksilver Messenger Service.

You should, he said:

“Keep a warm heart – and a calm mind.”

That is the basics. Yes, pretty basic. But you got to go back to basics, right? Sometimes. When you are a hitter in a slump. Or a golfer turning duffer.

“Keep a warm heart – and a calm mind.”

Remember the kindness of your mother. He went on. The kindness of a mother is nurturing – it instills inner values. He remembers his own mother as very patient and kind. He rode on her shoulders until he was three, and he would pull on one or the other of her ears to tell her the direction he wanted to go. He laughed remembering this spate of youthful cruelty – he laughed many times in a disarming an infectious way.

We could not see the Dalai Lama especially well. We were no closer and he was no bigger than Merle Haggard when we saw him. But we could hear him pretty well, and we felt apart of a significant event, and they had views of the throne on the Jumbotrons. The crowd was attentive.

“Avoid useless fear,” he said.

Remember, people who always say “I” “Me” “Mine” are at a higher heart attack risk.

It is important to remember: “Everyone is a human being.”

With a peaceful mind comes a peaceful atmosphere.

We should be awre of and avoid impatience. As an example he cites a common one: You are at the airport and your flight is delayed. The tendency is to be impatient. (I’ve seen this in people quite marked on occasion – and on the trip to Vegas the day after this I encountered in most strenuously when my plane required three attempts to land in thunderstorms in Salt Lake City {on the second run, being hit by lightning}, became very late, and then there were complex connections, thunderstorms still availing, to make.

We should take these occasions to become aware of inner self, and avoid impatience, he said.

Before you give in to the impatience – you should look inside. Visit your feelings. Visit yourself.

If you become angry at someone or something-

First, look at yourself and how you could be to blame or culpable in this instance.

Second, look out – look at the problem or situation from different angles – not just one angle.

Three, Even in tragedies – and for him, his exile from Tibet is clearly such a tragedy, understand there is not just one cause , but many causes – a series of causalities.

Take a realistic approach to problems – have compassion even as you take appropriate action.

When you get bad news – look for the positive side.

Most of what the Dalai Lama said made a lot of sense.

It made sense but was delightful too..because he had a certain majestic whimsy – enhanced by the fact that he delivered much of the sermon wearing a new England Patriots baseball cap.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I enjoyed your reflections of seeing the Dalai Lama, right up to the part about the Patriots cap. But I think you nailed it: Majestic whimsy. I saw him speak in Madison about 15 years ago -- don't remember much specifically about the evening other than I recall feeling very intimately involved in a huge gathering even though I was hearing a tiny figure who was very far away -- no jumbotrons in those days. His messages remain familiar because I try to keep his writings at hand; they are spot on every time I reach for them.

Lyn Johnson