The Dalai Lama: A Powerful Force for Good
It’s the birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama, who, IMO, is rivalled only by Pope Francis as the most effective person on this planet at influencing our civilization for the better. According to the Writer’s Almanac, he’s no stranger to social media; he routinely posts words of wisdom on Twitter – advice like, “In order to help others, in order to serve others, the real motive is love.”
The Dalai Lama says: “All problems must be solved through dialogue, through talk. The use of violence is outdated and never solves problems.”
So correct, and so beautiful. He’s what I want to be when I grow up.
Although I agree with the Dalai Lama, things are not always that simple.
Of course problems should be solved through dialogue, or polylogue, but that is possible only if others are willing to talk. Surely we would not suppose that ISIS, which throws people off of tall buildings, burns people to death, cuts throats with a knife, and forces women into sex slavery, is willing to talk. Neville Chamberlain attempted dialogue with Adolph Hitler with unfortunate results.
I fully support the admonition of Jesus to love our neighbors as ourselves, including the definitions of neighbor and love as shown in the parable of the Good Samaritan. But sometimes when there is an attack we have to defend ourselves and others. Sometimes things are very complicated and we don’t really know what to do. Mistakes are inevitable and can have very serious consequences.
Both the Pope and the Dali Lama share characteristics of being figureheads for an organization that have achieved a great deal of media coverage. If you ask almost anyone for the name of a religious leader, almost certainly one of these are likely to be mentioned.
But greatness can have other qualifications than being in the public eye or notoriety. Effective power can be enhanced by the power of media. But the power of media can sometimes limit what can be done as well.
There is a line in the Rock Opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” that asks why he did not come at a time of mass communication. It may be that mass media is good at producing fads but not as effective at long term, changing hearts and minds. For comparison a “fad” in this field may be similar to enabling a person to resist the enticement of distractions like tobacco, drugs and alcohol but a true change would be if someone lost their desire for these things. There is a path for this but it is not with the latest fad.
There are many others who have and continue to operate with less popularity. As with most fields the movers and shakers are not necessarily as widely known to the general public.