Buddhism His Holiness, the Dalai Lama Resides

Buddhism

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama resides outside of Tibet in exile, after the Chinese led invasion in 1959. The invasion, in the words of the Dalai Lama, "was totally unjustifiable: the Chinese army had forcibly entered Tibetan territory while peaceful negotiations were actually going on" (My Land, pg75). The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader in Buddhism and though he resides outside of Tibet, he is still a beloved leader to the Tibetans. He is said to be the reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas who came before him, whom in turn, are the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion (Freedom, pg11). Tibetan Buddhist monks are referred to as Lamas.

The Tibetan branch of Buddhism is referred to as being much smaller than the two major branches of Buddhism which are called Theravada and Mahayana. The Tibetan branch is called Vararayana. This is also a branch of Mahayana, and means that the motive of one's practice is not for one's own gain, but for the gain of all beings. Despite some minor differences between the different branches of Buddhism, they share a common bond through the Four Noble Truths (Living Religions, Chapter 5).

The Four Noble Truths are part of the foundation of Buddhism and are the essence of Buddha's teachings. These were first introduced by the Buddha during a sermon at Deer Park in Sarnath. These truths are: the truth of suffering; the truth of the cause of suffering; the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.

It is believed in Buddhism that while the pursuit of pleasure is okay, it is merely fleeting, and that all beings in this world may not always find pleasure and happiness, they will always have an experience of suffering. Buddhism centralizes around the belief that if we can end suffering through our understanding of what it is and how it comes about, (therefore, how to avoid it) we will attain the highest form of happiness for ourselves, and those around us.

Such a notion may seem highly optimistic, but it stands to reason that there is some truth in the Four Noble Truths. If anything, we all understand the level of suffering in the world and that it is universal - ie: inner-city poverty and third-world poverty - so to work towards ending this suffering is in everyone's best interest. In my opinion, Lord Buddha was enlightened for his time to believe that each person possessed the ability to understand and cease suffering, and working collectively could produce even more results.