Session with His Holiness

I have had two audiences with H.H. Dalai Lama so far- once in Dharamshala and the second time during the Science and Spirituality Conference in Gangtok two years ago. Both times, I was floored by the charisma and humility of the Nobel laureate. The Students’ Interactive Session with His Holiness yesterday was another exciting opportunity for me. However, by the end of the session, I was a tad disappointed. It seemed like his talk was a bit disconnected, unlike his previous discussions. It certainly must have to do with the busy itinerary and all the travelling. 

Still, I have a few gems by His Holiness which made a lot of sense to me and I would like to share the same with you today:

• Religion teaches us hypocrisy-- A holy man giving us a rather unholy description of religion! His Holiness mentioned that nowadays we refer to religion only during times of need. Everybody is busy filling up their pockets and bank accounts, while, at the same time, attempting to be religious. According to him, instead of spending all that money on performing elaborate rituals, we must use the same money for a better cause, like feeding or clothing the poor, etc.
• Size of the stomach -- This is another statement worth mentioning here. His Holiness jokingly stated that if the size of the stomach of a rich man and his poorer counterpart was different, then it made sense for the former to earn more and more. However, this is not the case. If the size of the stomach is the same, then why do we hoard so much cash, and for what?
• External conditions and internal causes -- Our world is shaped by these two factors. While external conditions are beyond our control, we can direct internal causes since it is within us. Therefore, it is extremely important that we try to change what is internal rather than waiting for the external world to come to terms with our condition. Only then do we have a shot at peace.
• Good karma can erase bad karma -- I have often mulled over this. All of us talk about Karma, the 'what goes around comes around' law. But when every individual has a mix of, both, positive and negative karma how does this system work then? His Holiness answered this as such: If you fight with your mother in the morning and use a few horrible words, you have created bad karma. But if you repent your actions and ask for forgiveness after some time, then your bad karma has already been converted into good karma. This example helped me understand that just because we have done a bad deed, it does not imply that the same will happen to us. If we are aware of our negative deeds and make an attempt to correct it, it is never too late.

Thank you Your Holiness for the talk. It was an honour to listen to you speak. I hope to put your words to practice in my everyday life. Thuchey.