Who would refuse to meet with the Dalai Lama?

The President of the Untied States, that's who.  For his own reasons, which the President has outlined in recent statements pertaining to China, the President has decided to postpone his meeting with his Holiness, the Dalai Lama.     
Meeting the Dalai Lama would show the President's support for human dignity and peace.  This kind of action creates a positive imprint on the mind because it's born from a place of love.  A demonstration of love coming from the President could trickle down to all Americans and help elevate all of us. It seems like the President is making his decisions from of place of fear, and according to the Buddhists, fear based decisions will create more fear. 
I'm sure the President has the best intentions and hopes that appeasing the Chinese will ultimately help promote world peace, but how can it?  His decision is intended to create a 'favorable' response from the Chinese government, which unfortunately is not within his control.  The Chinese can and will do whatever they want, regardless of whether the President meets with his Holiness or not.  There is no guarantee that postponing the meeting will ensure future cooperation with China.  The only thing that is guaranteed is that the world will take note of his decision to prioritize China over the Dalai Lama's message of peace.
This is a wonderful opportunity to look at how we make decisions in our own lives.  Do you make decisions based from a place of love or fear?  Are you making decisions in your life in an attempt to control the negative reactions of others?  It's impossible to "make" anyone feel or do anything.  All we can do is purposely make decisions from a place of loving kindness and see what happens. 

Please share your thoughts on this.  We'd love to hear from you!

Namaste! 
Scott

Posted on Tue, October 6, 2009 by Scott

4 comments (Add your own)

1. JB wrote:
Like all human interaction we have our own agendas at the forefront.

The Dalai Lama is not above this in his hopes to meet with Obama.

He wants something; an autonomous Tibet. In my opinion Obama is just fine in his decision to give the Heisman to the Dalai Lama.

It's all a selfish game anyway, so what difference does it make who makes the first move or when it is made...it all perpetuates the same stuff...

Tue, October 6, 2009 @ 10:05 PM

2. Greg wrote:
Oh, I didn't know that Obama didn't meet with him; I think that's so sad (especially since he received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, an accolade shared by the Dalai Lama).

I think the U.S. government's fear of Chinese economic retaliation has kept Presidents from graciously extending a welcoming hand to this amazing man for years. How long will the U.S. pretend it is either on the side of human rights or that it's doing anything but sucking up to the Chinese government (in spite of its cultural extermination of the Tibetan people)?

It's been long enough that we've treated a man who embodies peace and kindness like an outlaw.

Mon, October 12, 2009 @ 1:15 PM

3. Kim wrote:
Being a Co-Creator of Joy and Peace by Kim Groark
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Dalai Lama's teaching lecture, "The Heart of Change." It was a powerful reminder of a simple truth: Life changes and we can choose to flow with it OR resist and suffer. The choice is ours. Regardless of our position in life-the color of our skin, our religion, our life circumstance, we all have the potential to create our own reality and either be a co-creator or a destroyer of joy and peace in our world. At the heart of yoga, is the invitation to open our minds and our hearts to the realization that we co-create our own reality. We are not victims of circumstance. We are all born with this equal potential. As His Holiness shared, the practice of self-reflection and meditation are tools that help us cultivate mindfulness. It is through this mindfulness and awareness that we awaken to the reality that we affect our world through our own actions and thoughts.

By consciously choosing to keep a positive & joyful attitude regardless of what happens around us, we gain greater strength and control over our emotional state. Though we are naturally sensitive beings, we don’t have to let our outer circumstances affect us negatively. We can choose to hold a positive attitude and let our joy affect our surroundings. We then become co-creators with the universe, and we truly start to benefit others by means of our own joy. By maintaining a positive attitude regardless of your outer circumstances today, you are taking greater control over your emotions and creating your best life.

Today, stop looking for life to get out of your way and start making way for your life and your ultimate happiness! I often hear people complain that they have no time for themselves, no time for this, no time for that, no time for yoga... There is another alternative. We can choose to see our spiritual practice as something very sacred, valuable and necessary. We always have time for something we value, because when we value something, we make time for it. Saying we don't have time is always an excuse. We can stop making excuses and start owning our choices. This is mindfulness in action and thought. Instead of blaming others, with lovingkindness we can look to ourselves and make the adjustment we need rather than viewing others as the source of our discontent and suffering. Just like our relationship to our family and our work, we cultivate our spiritual practice. It does not just happen, whenever it happens to be convenient. If we really want peace in the world, we have to do the work. We have to commit. We must choose with courage, enthusiasm & conviction. May we all commit ourselves to our highest potential and our deepest joy. Om Mani Padme Hum.

Wed, October 14, 2009 @ 12:15 AM

4. joanna wrote:
response to kim: i have time to make time, i just don't know how to make time for myself!

Fri, October 23, 2009 @ 12:07 PM

Add a New Comment

Enter the code you see below:
code
 

Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.