Sua Santità il Dalai Lama: “Ho meditato a lungo sugli insegnamenti del Buddha e ho condiviso con voi ciò che ho imparato. Dovreste fare lo stesso anche voi, condividere ciò che avete capito con la vostra famiglia e i vostri amici e incoraggiarli a fare altrettanto.

30 maggio 2020. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – Stamattina, in tutto il mondo, la gente ha potuto seguire Sua Santità il Dalai Lama per quasi tre quarti d’ora durante i rituali preparatori per l’Iniziazione di Avalokiteshvara. Mentre è rimasto seduto nella sua residenza, su diverse piattaforme veniva trasmesso via web ciò che faceva e diceva. Nel frattempo si è approntata la traduzione simultanea in Tibetano in ben tredici lingue: Cinese, Inglese, Francese, Tedesco, Hindi, Italiano, Giapponese, Coreano, Mongolo, Portoghese, Russo, Spagnolo e Vietnamita.

“Come ho detto ieri”, ha iniziato Sua Santità, “il mantra di Avalokiteshvara, Om mani padme hum è colmo di benedizioni. Nel corso dell’iniziazione di questa mattina mediteremo anche sulla mente di risveglio di bodhichitta e sulla saggezza della vacuità.

“Possa il suono del grande tamburo del dharma

Disperdere la sofferenza degli esseri senzienti.

Che tu possa vivere per dare insegnamenti

per inconcepibili miliardi di eoni. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: “Wisdom involves the two truths, conventional and ultimate. Things appear to us, but they don’t exist as they appear. Quantum physics observes something similar: nothing has any objective existence. As the Middle Way School says, things are merely designated. “

May 30, 2020. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – People all over the world were able to watch as His Holiness the Dalai Lama performed preparatory rituals for an Avalokiteshvara empowerment for almost three-quarters of an hour this morning. While he remained seated at his residence, what he did and said were webcast over several platforms. Translation of his words in Tibetan was provided simultaneously in thirteen other languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. “As I mentioned yesterday,” His Holiness began, “Avalokiteshvara’s mantra, Om mani padme hum is full of blessings. During the course of the empowerment this morning we’ll also meditate on the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wisdom understanding emptiness.

“May the sound of the great dharma drum
Dispel the misery of sentient beings.
May you live to give teachings
for inconceivable billions of aeons.

“This empowerment belongs to the vehicle of secret mantra or tantra. Tantra was not revealed in public but in secret. The first round of the Buddha’s teachings, the first turning of the wheel of dharma, concerning the four noble truths and so forth, was taught in public. The second round, dealing with the perfection of wisdom teachings was given to a more select group of people who were not discomfited by the concept of emptiness. Since these teachings were not given openly, some have later questioned whether the Buddha gave them at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Sua Santità il Dalai Lama: “Tra i sette miliardi di esseri umani, nessuno vuole la sofferenza; tutti noi vogliamo essere felici. Eppure, se guardiamo i telegiornali, vediamo notizie di discriminazione razziale e di persone che sembrano trarre piacere uccidendo.”

29 maggio 2020. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – Il webcast dei preliminari dell’Iniziazione di Avalokiteshvara è iniziato oggi con Sua Santità che ha tranquillamente eseguito le necessarie procedure preparatorie nella sua residenza. Alla destra di Sua Santità c’era il piccolo padiglione del mandala. Dietro di esso, una statua di Avalokiteshvara a 1000 braccia e 1000 occhi. In questa occasione, ai lati della telecamera davanti a lui c’erano dei grandi monitor su cui Sua Santità poteva vedere alcuni Lama e amici da diverse parti del mondo. Una volta pronto, Sua Santità ha detto: “Molte persone preoccupate mi hanno chiesto se, in questo momento, potevo dare l’iniziazione di Avalokiteshvara. Pertanto, lo sto facendo su Internet. Anche l’anno scorso, quando, ho dato un tale conferimento, è stato trasmesso via web e ho saputo che la gente in Tibet è stata in grado di seguirlo. Inoltre, come preliminare al Ciclo degli insegnamenti di Manjushri, che ho iniziato a Bodhgaya e completato a Mundgod, ho dato l’iniziazione di Vajrabhairava alla quale i devoti hanno potuto accedere via internet.

“Per quanto riguarda l’iniziazione, se avete una chiara intenzione di riceverla e io ho l’intenzione di darla in questo modo, sono fiducioso che la riceverete”. Avalokiteshvara è l’incarnazione della compassione. Se lo pregate e se coltivate la pratica concentrandovi su di lui, vi aiuterà ad aumentare la vostra compassione. Si dice che i Bodhisattva si concentrano sull’illuminazione con la saggezza e sugli esseri senzienti con compassione. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama : “In the more than one thousand years since Shantarakshita brought us the Buddhist tradition, the Nalanda Tradition, we have kept it alive, an invaluable part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Even those who have no interest in religious practice can benefit from the knowledge it preserves. “

May 29, 2020. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – The webcast of the preliminaries for an Avalokiteshvara empowerment began today with His Holiness quietly performing necessary preparatory procedures at his residence. Several monks from his household assisted as and when required. To His Holiness’s right was the small mandala pavilion. Behind that stood a statue of 1000 armed, 1000 eyed Avalokiteshvara. On this occasion, on either side of the camera before him were large monitors on which His Holiness could see Lamas and friends from different parts of the world. Once he was ready, His Holiness explained the situation. “Many concerned people have asked if I could give an Avalokiteshvara empowerment at this time. Therefore, I’m doing so over the internet. Last year too, when I gave such an empowerment, it was webcast and I heard that people in Tibet were able to follow it. Also, as a preliminary to the Cycle of Manjushri teachings that I began in Bodhgaya and completed in Mundgod, I gave a Vajrabhairava empowerment that devotees could access over the internet. Read the rest of this entry »

Sua Santità il Dalai Lama: “Quando capirete che tutto, compreso voi stessi, è sorto in modo dipendente, che nulla esiste in modo indipendente, capirete che non c’è un sé indipendente, un controllore separato dal vostro corpo e dalla vostra mente.

Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India, 17 maggio 2020.

“Oggi è un nuovo giorno”, ha annunciato Sua Santità il Dalai Lama aprendo la seconda sessione del suo insegnamento in webcast sulla ‘Preziosa ghirlanda’ https://www.sangye.it/altro/?p=2788 di Nagarjuna, “e vorrei augurare a tutti i miei amici del Dharma ‘Buongiorno'”.

Ancora una volta gli spettatori hanno visto Sua Santità seduto nella sua residenza e, mentre parlava in Tibetano, le sue parole sono state tradotte simultaneamente in altre tredici lingue: Cinese, Francese, Tedesco, Hindi, Italiano, Giapponese, Coreano, Mongolo, Portoghese, Russo, Spagnolo, Vietnamita e Inglese. Considerando che alcuni degli interpreti si trovavano in angoli remoti del mondo, si è trattato di un’impresa tecnica di un certo rilievo.

“Come ho detto ieri – ha continuato Sua Santità – tutti noi vogliamo essere felici e non soffrire, questo vale anche per gli animali”. Tuttavia, quando noi esseri umani agiamo sulla base della rabbia e dell’attaccamento, creiamo problemi a noi stessi. Questo spesso disturba anche altre creature. Parliamo all’infinito di pace, ma la sua realizzazione dipende da come si comportano gli esseri umani. Nel secolo precedente abbiamo visto conflitti intensamente violenti, caratterizzato da due guerre mondiali provocate da una mentalità ristretta in termini di interessi personali. In passato, nelle dispute territoriali i re mandavano i loro sudditi a combattere contro i loro vicini. Ecco perché penso che, alla base della guerra, ci sia un carattere feudale. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holines the Dalai Lama: “We should not let ourselves become despondent or demoralized because it doesn’t help. When problems like this pandemic come about, if we human beings don’t work together to solve them, who else is going to do it? I request the doctors and researchers seeking a solution to keep up their efforts.”

May 17, 2020. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – “Today is a new day,” announced His Holiness the Dalai Lama as he opened the second session of his webcast teaching about Nagarjuna’s ‘Precious Garland’, “and I’d like to wish all my dharma friends ‘Good morning’.”

Once again viewers could see His Holiness seated in his residence and while he spoke in Tibetan, his words were simultaneously translated into thirteen other languages: Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese and English. Considering that some of the interpreters were in far off corners of the world, this was a technical feat.

“As I mentioned yesterday,” His Holiness continued, “we all want to be happy and not to suffer, this is true of animals too. However, when we human beings act on the basis of anger and attachment, we bring trouble on ourselves. This often disturbs other creatures as well. We talk endlessly about peace, but bringing it about depends on how human beings behave. In the previous century we saw intensely violent conflict typified by two world wars provoked by narrow-minded thinking in terms of self-interest. In the past, kings sent people into battle with their neighbours in disputes over territory. This is why I think there is an underlying feudal character to warfare. Read the rest of this entry »

Sua Santità il Dalai Lama: “Sono un essere umano, uno dei sette miliardi su questa terra, e credo che se dentro di loro le persone fossero più in pace, sarebbero più felici.”

Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India, 16 maggio 2020 – Oggi, per la prima volta, Sua Santità il Dalai Lama ha dato un insegnamento, senza aver nessuno seduto davanti a lui, ripreso in video e trasmesso in webcast al mondo intero. Gli spettatori, tra cui monaci e monache tibetani, laici e laiche in tutti gli insediamenti in India ed altrove, così come molte altre persone in luoghi lontani, hanno potuto vedere ed ascoltare in modo chiaro Sua Santità. Molti si rallegravano di trovarlo così evidentemente energico ed in buona salute.

“Oggi siamo in grado di usare questa meravigliosa tecnologia per comunicare”, ha spiegato. “Molti amici hanno mostrato interesse e richiesto un insegnamento, ma, a causa delle restrizioni legate alla pandemia del coronavirus, non siamo stati in grado di incontrarci fisicamente”. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama : “Children survive because their parents care for them. Even as adults, individuals survive in dependence on the community. This is because we are social creatures. In the past, people lived in small communities with little interaction between them. Today, we are economically interdependent and we are faced by challenges like climate change that we can only meet if we are united. We must think globally and work together.”

May 16, 2020. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – Today, for the first time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a teaching with no one sitting in front of him that was captured on video and webcast to the world. Viewers, who included Tibetan monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen throughout the settlements in India and elsewhere, as well many other people in distant locations, were able to see and hear His Holiness clearly. Many rejoiced that he was so evidently strong and in good health.

“Today, we are able to use this marvellous technology to communicate,” he explained. “Many friends have shown interest and requested a teaching, but due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, we not able to meet physically.

“The main topic of my talk today will be Nagarjuna’s ‘Precious Garland’, which, along with the six books of the ‘Collection of Reasoning’, we continue to study. The first part of the text, which I’ll read today, deals with the sixteen factors for high status or good rebirth. Later in the text is the verse,

“May sentient beings be as dear to me as my own life,
And may they be dearer to me than myself.
May their ill deeds bear fruit for me,
And all my virtues bear fruit for them. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama paying his respects before the statue of the Buddha inside the stupa at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 17, 2020. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

May 7, 2020.

It gives me great pleasure to offer greetings to Buddhist brothers and sisters across the world celebrating Vesak (Buddha Purnima) today.

Shakyamuni Buddha was born in Lumbini, attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya and passed away in Kushinagar 2600 years ago, yet I believe his teaching is universal and continues to be relevant today. Moved by a deep sense of concern to help others, following his enlightenment the Buddha spent the rest of his life as a monk, sharing his experience with everyone who wished to listen. Both his view of dependent arising and his advice not to harm anyone, but to help whoever you can, emphasize the practice of non-violence. This remains one of the most potent forces for good in the world today, for non-violence, motivated by compassion, is to be of service to our fellow beings.

In an increasingly interdependent world, our own welfare and happiness depend on many other people. Today, the challenges we face require us to accept the oneness of humanity. Despite superficial differences between us, people are equal in their basic wish for peace and happiness. Part of Buddhist practice involves training our minds through meditation. For our training in calming our minds, developing qualities such as love, compassion, generosity and patience, to be effective, we must put them into practice in day-to-day life. Read the rest of this entry »

In this time of serious crisis, we face threats to our health and sadness for the family and friends we have lost.

Economic disruption is posing a major challenge to governments and undermining the ability of so many people to make a living.

It is during times like this that we must focus on what unites us as members of one human family. Accordingly, we need to reach out to each other with compassion.

As human beings, we are all the same. We experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties, yet we are also united by a desire for happiness.

Our human capacity to reason and to see things realistically gives us the ability to transform hardship into opportunity.

This crisis and its consequences serve as a warning that only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face. I pray we all heed ‘The Call to Unite’.

Dalai Lama
May 1, 2020

Message requested by The Call to Unite