Dalai Lama was in Belgium
This is my report on what happened yesterday when the Dalai Lama visited Belgium and I was there. There's text, pictures and his best bits from the teaching, so if you're interested, check it out ;^)
The Dalai Lama came to Belgium yesterday to bless the new Buddhist temple and Buddha statue. He would also be giving a teaching on happiness and understanding. Of course as a Buddhist, this was not something I wanted to miss.
So I bought my ticket from the second I heard about it and yesterday I arrived bright and early. On the schedule we had gotten, it said that the ceremony would only begin around 12.30PM, so imagine my surprise when I got there around 10AM and he was already there, sitting in front of the temple, speaking to a 1000+ Tibetans and praying with them. It was amazing to watch!
So a while after that, we were allowed to take our seats and I managed to get a front row seat in the middle! My happiness knew no boundaries :^D
First was the ceremony in the temple and a lot of dignitaries were present in the temple. Politicians, leaders from other religions, cultural representatives and sponsors. The thing that amused me most about it, was that they all had to take their shoes off before entering the temple (including the stuffy politicians) :^p
Anyway, after that was over, he came outside to give his teaching on happiness and understanding.
It was all very interesting and I will post the best bits right here:
- Most of our problems appear because we are too shortsighted.
- The source of our own happiness is in our own mind.
- Altruism will bring you inner strength.
- Kindness needs to come from yourself, not from a sense of obligation to your religion. Do not rely on your religious faith to bring you happiness.
- Everyone talks and thinks about money instead of moral ethics. So our thinking at the basic level is wrong because we only think about the material. In order to change the world, we need enthusiasm and a goal. That goal needs to be a happy world without a gap between the rich and the poor, without war. A truly peaceful and equal world.
Moral ethics must become a part of the educational system without including a basis of religion because once religion is included the world will never be one.
- Your enemy is your best teacher to practice patience and understanding.
- The biggest thing Christianity did for humanity was bring it education and healthcare. Other religions could learn from that.
- If you don’t care about the lives of insects, chickens and cows, eventually you’ll stop caring about the lives of humans. That is why we need to teach our children to respect all life from a very early age.
- A blessing must come through action, not through prayer.
One of the people in the audience also asked him if he remembered his previous life when he was a child and what he hopes will happen in his next life. This is what he answered:
When I was 1 or 2 years old, the Dalai Lama search party came to my village and I knew their names and ranks. That is the first thing I remembered from my previous life.
Every day I say a prayer in which I express the hope that in my next life, I’ll be able to help people.
So, to say the teaching was interesting is putting it mildly ;^)
After the teaching, I went inside the temple and walked around the grounds a bit and then I headed home.
Sitting in the sun all day had left me looking like a lobster, but the pain was/is all worth it and I would do it all again ;^)
I hope that the next time he returns to Belgium for a teaching, I’ll be able to be there again!
Thanks for reading!
The Dalai Lama came to Belgium yesterday to bless the new Buddhist temple and Buddha statue. He would also be giving a teaching on happiness and understanding. Of course as a Buddhist, this was not something I wanted to miss.
So I bought my ticket from the second I heard about it and yesterday I arrived bright and early. On the schedule we had gotten, it said that the ceremony would only begin around 12.30PM, so imagine my surprise when I got there around 10AM and he was already there, sitting in front of the temple, speaking to a 1000+ Tibetans and praying with them. It was amazing to watch!
So a while after that, we were allowed to take our seats and I managed to get a front row seat in the middle! My happiness knew no boundaries :^D
First was the ceremony in the temple and a lot of dignitaries were present in the temple. Politicians, leaders from other religions, cultural representatives and sponsors. The thing that amused me most about it, was that they all had to take their shoes off before entering the temple (including the stuffy politicians) :^p
Anyway, after that was over, he came outside to give his teaching on happiness and understanding.
It was all very interesting and I will post the best bits right here:
- Most of our problems appear because we are too shortsighted.
- The source of our own happiness is in our own mind.
- Altruism will bring you inner strength.
- Kindness needs to come from yourself, not from a sense of obligation to your religion. Do not rely on your religious faith to bring you happiness.
- Everyone talks and thinks about money instead of moral ethics. So our thinking at the basic level is wrong because we only think about the material. In order to change the world, we need enthusiasm and a goal. That goal needs to be a happy world without a gap between the rich and the poor, without war. A truly peaceful and equal world.
Moral ethics must become a part of the educational system without including a basis of religion because once religion is included the world will never be one.
- Your enemy is your best teacher to practice patience and understanding.
- The biggest thing Christianity did for humanity was bring it education and healthcare. Other religions could learn from that.
- If you don’t care about the lives of insects, chickens and cows, eventually you’ll stop caring about the lives of humans. That is why we need to teach our children to respect all life from a very early age.
- A blessing must come through action, not through prayer.
One of the people in the audience also asked him if he remembered his previous life when he was a child and what he hopes will happen in his next life. This is what he answered:
When I was 1 or 2 years old, the Dalai Lama search party came to my village and I knew their names and ranks. That is the first thing I remembered from my previous life.
Every day I say a prayer in which I express the hope that in my next life, I’ll be able to help people.
So, to say the teaching was interesting is putting it mildly ;^)
After the teaching, I went inside the temple and walked around the grounds a bit and then I headed home.
Sitting in the sun all day had left me looking like a lobster, but the pain was/is all worth it and I would do it all again ;^)
I hope that the next time he returns to Belgium for a teaching, I’ll be able to be there again!
Thanks for reading!