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The Forum > Article Comments > The celebrity status of the Dalai Lama > Comments

The celebrity status of the Dalai Lama : Comments

By Peter Sellick, published 25/6/2013

The Dalai Lama appears happy, but happiness is not the deepest of emotions. My cat is happy, but she's not enlightened.

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So what you are saying boils down to

your way to makebelieve island is better then his
Posted by Kenny, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 10:12:18 AM
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Hooray for the Dalai Llama - with all of his warts and limitations.

The very best things that human beings can do to serve each other both up close and personal and for humankind altogether is to be happy because we transmit our emotional state throughout the entire universe.
Of course the real topic here is what are we as conscious beings? Especially before we "fall" into identification with our fear-saturated socially-constructed mortal meat body personality.
What is the nature of Consciousness with a capital C.
http://www.consciousnessitself.org
http://www.adidam.org/teaching/aletheon/truth-life
http://global.adidam.org/books/ancient-teachings.html
On Happiness & how to Realize it
http://www.beezone.com/AdiDa/dreadedgomboo/chapter1.html
http://www.aboutadidam.org/readings/baptism_of_immortal_happiness
Sex Laughter & God Realization
http://www.adidam.org/Content/teaching/print-files/sex-laughter-god-realization.pdf
Death and Dying via:
http://www.easydeathbook.com/purpose.asp
And http://www.dabase.org/up-1-1.htm
Posted by Daffy Duck, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 11:49:48 AM
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Your cat's not enlightened, Peter, and neither are you.

You are living in a fantasy world, one based upon man-made, wishful thinking.

Why don't you consider joining the real world?

It's not so bad!
Posted by David G, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 1:09:30 PM
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When I was a Catholic, (I am now an atheist), the Catechism taught me that the purpose in life was "to love and serve God on Earth, and be HAPPY with Him forever in heaven, after death". It seems that the Catholic Church, at least, put the highest priority on happiness, unlike Peter Sellick.
Posted by Doug, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 1:13:03 PM
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I have no idea whether I live a 'good life' or not, but I've never felt any 'desperation for meaning in the face of death'. The time I came closest was when I was suffering from a thyroid deficiency -- but that was cured with tablets, not religion. Perhaps you should look into that, Peter. Maybe that's all you really need.

But this article is a prime example of the religious method at its finest: invent an imaginary problem, insist that everyone has it, then offer to provide them with the solution -- at a price, of course.

Let me add that I don't have a particularly high opinion of the Dalai Lama, either. It's easy to look important and sound meaningful when you're not obliged to put any of your doctrines into practice, but I suspect that Tibet under his leadership would be no more enlightened than Iran under the Ayatollah or North Korea under Kim Jong-Un.
Posted by Jon J, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 1:27:57 PM
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Agreed Jon J , I'm no D'Lama fan either but Peter is pointing the finger at the wrong person. C'mon Peter get stuck into us Atheists. Attribute beliefs and attitudes to us that we don't have. Don't pick on poor 'ol D'Lama. He is as deluded as you.
Posted by Priscillian, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 3:55:00 PM
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I've gradually reached the conclusion that the real problem for Christian apologists and theologians is their trouble with pronouns: they just don't understand the difference between 'me' and 'us'.

Perhaps Peter was home sick from kindergarten that day.
Posted by Jon J, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 4:33:48 PM
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Peter , yes your Cat is happy and deservedly so , one suspects.

You , however , are not happy.

Wrong religion could be a cause..... or maybe Religion in any form .

Athiestism is better
Posted by Aspley, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 4:47:00 PM
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Some of the Dalai Lama's views seem about as destructive as some christian teachings.

Before knocking the teaching of ethics Peter might do better to reflect on how well the teaching of variants of christian belief has not worked to achieve ethical behaviour. It was Peter who ïn a recent article was promoting the saying of prayers in university http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=14890 "What would happen if prayers were said before lectures in chemistry, English literature, physics and maths? What would happen if prayer was said before lectures in business and commerce? Students would be introduced to the idea that they are not there simply to obtain credentials so that they could command high salaries and prestige.

Seemingly no comprehension of the behaviour of many of those for who the saying of prayers is a regular part of their lives.

Glass houses Peter?

R0bert
Posted by R0bert, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 7:18:56 PM
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"But no one should be able to get away with uttering obviously superficial solutions to deep problems that accompany our humanity."

Gee Peter, that sounds like you are discussing any religious leader at all!
As far as I am concerned, no one should be able to get away with pushing the made up invisible man barrow that all religious leaders currently get away with.

"The fact that this happens time and time again indicates that by turning our back on our own religious traditions we have become theologically naïve and will accept all manner of proposals from a man in a monk's robe whom thousands flock to hear."

Whose religious traditions? Yours?
If not believing in religion or Gods makes me "theologically naive", then I give thanks for that!
The man in the monk's robe could also describe the Pope couldn't it?
I agree we shouldn't be accepting all his 'proposals' either...
Posted by Suseonline, Tuesday, 25 June 2013 8:28:53 PM
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Peter,
>>his insistence on ethics as the key to a better world and presumably to a happier people. Indeed, he contrasts ethics with religion, which he parodies…<<

I am not sure where you get the parody part from, but you probably refer to the statement “Dalai Lama Tells His Facebook Friends That 'Religion Is No Longer Adequate'” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/dalai-lama-facebook-religion-is-no-longer-adequate-science_n_1880805.html) which is an oversimplification of what Dalai Lama actually claims on his Facebook: “All the world’s major religions … promote inner values. But the reality … today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate”. Note, “religions” not “religion”.

Or more explicitly:

“Certainly religion has helped millions of people in the past, helps millions today and will continue to help millions in the future. … (A)s the peoples of the world become ever more closely interconnected in an age of globalization and in multicultural societies, ethics based in any one religion would only appeal to some of us; it would not be meaningful for all.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/beyond-religion-dalai-lam_n_1125892.html)

This is rather obvious if one realises that what Dalai Lama is referring to is the VARIETY of religions (as “denominations”) rather than religion as a phenomenon (as the Huffington Post heading seems to suggest) seen by some as a positive, by some as a negative, trait of human nature.

What Dalai Lama is apparently pointing to - with his emphasis on ethics above particular religions - is the “natural moral law” intrinsic to all humans (whether seen as a product of evolution or as an a priori given by God); compare also the concept of World Ethos of Hans Küng.

See also http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=9368#152712. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/dalai-lama-facebook-religion-is-no-longer-adequate-science_n_1880805.html.
Posted by George, Wednesday, 26 June 2013 2:09:20 AM
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I think that what happened to the Tibetans is instructive to the Lexi and Poirot clones of this world.

If you reject the principle of defending your own territory by force, and if you want to live in lotus land in harmony with everything and everybody, and if you find a nice tree and go to sleep in the sun, you will probably wake up with some bastards foot on your neck.

Any organism which stops fighting for it's own survival will eventually become extinct.
Posted by LEGO, Wednesday, 26 June 2013 9:38:34 AM
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Lego, perhaps you haven't noticed but, in the case of humans, we constantly fight against our own species, not for survival, but to gain lucre, resources and power.

Most other species are content to live in peace with their kind!
Posted by David G, Saturday, 29 June 2013 11:14:00 AM
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