What is the difference between the dalai lama and buddha

At the Washington Shugden protest, I also met a stonecutter by the name of Sonam Lama who insisted that the group is poor — at least at the lower levels. Pitts, the meditation teacher, also painted the organization as bare-bones.

Of all the Shugden worshippers I spoke with, Pitts was the most eloquent in articulating their cause, passionately trumpeting the iniquity of the Dalai Lama.

At the protest, I spoke with an older man from Los Angeles who said his name was Neil. Suddenly, a woman came up to us and said I had to stop speaking to him. She told me he had to return to his job of handing out fliers. She declined to give her name or to answer any questions, and she marched brusquely away.

Pitts, who witnessed the altercation, shrugged his shoulders and turned away, a sad smile on his face. Shusha was the key to the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Now Baku wants to turn the fabled fortress town into a resort. By Isaac Stone Fish. March 13, , PM. S-China Relations.

He was formerly the Asia editor at Foreign Policy Magazine. Twitter: isaacstonefish. Tags: China , East Asia , Religion. Trending 1.

A Blueprint for Peace in Ethiopia. Latest Analysis. Or are they? The Month in World Photos. You must accept that bad is bad. Now when I left the Norbulinka, there was danger. We were passing very near the Chinese military barracks. It was just on the other side of the river, the Chinese check post there. You see, we had definite information two or three weeks before I left, that the Chinese were fully prepared to attack us.

It was only a question of the day and hour. Question: About you being the incarnation of the bodhisattva of infinite compassion, Avalokiteshvara. How do you personally feel about this?

Is it something you have an unequivocal view of one way or another? Answer: It is difficult for me to say definitely. Unless I am engaged in a meditative effort, such as following my life back, breath by breath, I couldn't say exactly. We believe that there are four types of rebirth. One is the common type wherein, a being is helpless to determine his or her rebirth, but only reincarnates in dependence on the nature of past actions.

The opposite is that of an entirely enlightened Buddha, who simply manifests a physical form to help others. In this case, it is clear that the person is Buddha. A third is one who, due to past spiritual attainment, can choose, or at least influence, the place and situation of rebirth.

The fourth is called a blessed manifestation. In this the person is blessed beyond his normal capacity to perform helpful functions, such as teaching religion. For this last type of birth, the person's wishes in previous lives to help others must have been very strong. They obtain such empowerment. Though some seem more likely than others, I cannot definitely say which I am. Question follow up : From the viewpoint then of the realistic role you play as Chenrezi, how do you feel about it?

Only a few people have been considered, in one way or another, divine. Is the role a burden or a delight? Answer: It is very helpful. Through this role I can be of great benefit to people. For this reason I like it: I'm at home with it. It's clear that it is very helpful to people, and that I have the karmic relationship to be in this role.

Also, it is clear that there is a karmic relationship with the Tibetan people in particular. Now you see, you may consider that under the circumstances, I am very lucky.

However, behind the word luck, there are actual causes or reasons. There is the karmic force of my ability to assume this role as well as the force of my wish to do so. In regard to this, there is a statement in the great Shantideva's Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds which says, As long as space exists, and as long as there are migrators in cyclic existence, may I remain removing their sufferings.

I have that wish in this lifetime, and I know I had that wish in past lifetimes. Question follow up : With such a vast goal as your motivation, how do you deal with your personal limitations, your limits as a man?

Answer: Again, as it says in Shantideva, If the blessed Buddha cannot please all sentient beings, then how could I. Even an enlightened being, with limitless knowledge and power and the wish to save all others from suffering, cannot eliminate the individual karma of each being. Question follow up : Is this what keeps you from being overwhelmed when you see the suffering of the six million Tibetans, who on one level, you are responsible for?

Answer: My motivation is directed towards all sentient beings. There is no question, though, that on a second level, I am directed towards helping Tibetan. If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry.

If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever. Question follow up : A lot of people say this, but few really live by it. Did you always feel this way, or did you have to learn it? Answer: It is developed from inner practice. From a broader perspective, there will always be suffering. On one level, you are bound to meet with the effects of the unfavorable actions you yourself have previously committed in body, speech or mind.

Then also, your very own nature is that of suffering. There's not just one factor figuring into my attitude, but many different ones. From the point of view of the actual entity producing the suffering, as I have said, if it is fixable, then there is no need to worry. If not, there is no benefit to worrying.

From the point of view of the cause, suffering is based on past unfavorable actions accumulated by oneself and no other.

These karmas are not wasted. They will bear their fruit. One will not meet with the effects of actions that one has not done oneself. Finally, from the viewpoint of the nature of suffering itself, the aggregates of the mind and body have as their actual nature, suffering. They serve as a basis for suffering. As long as you have them you are susceptible to suffering. From a deep point of view, while we don't have our independence and are living in someone else's country, we have a certain type of suffering, but when we return to Tibet and gain our independence, then there will be other types of suffering.

So, this is just the way it is. You might think that I'm pessimistic, but I am not. This is how, through Buddhist teaching and advice, we handle situations. When fifty thousand people in the Shakya clan were killed one day, Shakyamuni Buddha, their clansman, didn't suffer at all.

He was leaning against a tree, and he was saying, I am a little sad today because fifty thousand of my clansmen were killed.

But he, himself, remained unaffected. Like that, you see laughter. This was the cause and effect of their own karma. There was nothing he could do about it. These sorts of thoughts make me stronger; more active. It is not at all a case of losing one's strength of mind or will in the face of the pervasive nature of suffering.

Question: How do you view yourself? Question: Will you be the last Dalai Lama? Question: Do you think you will ever be able to return to Tibet? Question: What are your commitments? The Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the largest and most influential tradition in Tibet. There have been only 14 Dalai Lamas in the history of Buddhism, and the first and second Dalai Lamas were given the title posthumously. According to Buddhist belief, the current Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of a past lama who decided to be reborn again to continue his important work, instead of moving on from the wheel of life.

A person who decides to be continually reborn is known as tulku. Buddhists believe that the first tulku in this reincarnation was Gedun Drub, who lived from and the second was Gendun Gyatso. However, the name Dalai Lama, meaning Ocean of Wisdom, was not conferred until the third reincarnation in the form of Sonam Gyatso in After the death of a Dalai Lama it has traditionally been the responsibility of the High Lamas of the Gelugpa Tradition and the Tibetan government to find his reincarnation.

The High Lamas search for a boy who was born around the same time as the death of the Dalai Lama. It can take around two or three years to identify the Dalai Lama, and for the current, 14th Dalai Lama, it was four years before he was found.

There are several ways in which the High Lamas might find out where the next reincarnation will be found. Once the High Lamas have located the home and the boy, they present a number of artefacts which they have brought with them in preparation, to the child.

Amongst these artefacts are a number of items that belonged to the deceased Dalai Lama. If the boy chooses the items that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, this is seen as a sign, in conjunction with all of the other indications, that the boy is a reincarnation. This procedure, however, as Tenzin Gyatso has said himself, is not set in stone; if two thirds of the Tibetan people wish to change the method of identifying the next reincarnation, this would be just as valid.

The search for the Dalai Lama has usually been limited to Tibet, although the third tulku was born in Mongolia.

However, as Tibet has been taken by the Chinese government, Tenzin Gyatso says that if he is reborn it will not be in a country run by the People's Republic of China, or any other country which is not free. In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions.

Interestingly, Tenzin Gyatso has also expressed doubts over whether he will be reborn at all, suggesting the function of the Dalai Lama may be over. However, until Tibet is reunited with its spiritual leader, it seems likely that there will continue to be a Dalai Lama.

He was born in and recognised as the reincarnation of Thubten Gyatso at a young age.