Today, I am thankful for those who seek a ‘middle way’ towards peace and serenity.
In our highly polarized world, we seem to align ourselves into one of two camps, often at the distant ends of the spectrum. Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to political philosophy, wherein a massive chasm has been propagated between the staunch viewpoints of personal liberty and the rallying cry of equality. Every election year seems to give a painful rebirth of this malicious cycle of wrath, pettiness, and personal libel. Regrettably, I have grown distraught and disillusioned by the constant bickering over these polar opposite attitudes, desperately hoping that leaders with cooler heads might prevail to identify some middle ground for peaceful reconciliation. The reality remains that everyone’s differences (and I sincerely mean everyone’s) are founded on some philosophical premise that can be rightfully justified based on one’s own creed and frame of reference. If such disparate stances could, at the minimum, be acknowledged, we’d likely take a sizable step towards productive and earnest dialogue, thereby finding a noble path toward resolution.
Peace and serenity starts with this willingness and zeal to find the middle way. Nearly 2,500 years ago in what is now modern day India, the inspirational religious and spiritual leader, Gautama Buddha, spoke of the noble path towards liberation by seeking a middle way between sensual indulgence and complete self-denial. In doing so, one might be able to seek a life without ‘cravings’. Buddhism is now readily practiced as the majority religion in many nations, including Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and, of course, Tibet. For many years, the political and spiritual leader of Tibet has been the Dalai Lama. The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born on this day (July 6) 85 years ago in Tibet. Identified at any early age as the 14th in line to serve as the highest-ranking Tibetan monk, His Holiness began an intensive indoctrination and education starting at the tender age of 6, learning everything from Buddhist philosophy to logic, with poetry, drama, fine arts, and medicine mixed in-between. While still in training, at the young age of 15, the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet, but he still continued on the path towards receiving the highest Buddhist degree – Geshe Lhrampa – at the age of 23 in 1959. Later that year, in the face of a brutal suppression against a Tibetan rebellion by Chinese soldiers in the capital of Lhasa, the Dalai Lama, disguised as a soldier, escaped Tibet with his family by foot and horseback across the rigid Himalayan terrain before finally reaching asylum in India.
However, what is most amazing about his story is that the Dalai Lama, even in exile, has never supported insurrection against China. Preaching only peace and non-violence, he has advocated for a peaceful reconciliation with the People’s Republic of China, wherein Tibet would operate as a self-governing, democratic entity within the confines of the People’s Republic of China. In other words, he has been seeking a ‘middle way’ that might allow the Tibetan people to coexist in the Chinese state. For the last decade, he has even stepped away as the political leader of the Tibetan state. To this day, a path has not been identified by hope springs eternal.
Along the way, the Dalai Lama has advocated for acceptance, understanding, and harmony among all religions. He has fervently supported environmental reform. He has even gone so far as to add modern science to the traditional curriculum of Tibetan monastic schools. Although he remains in exile, he has authored over 100 books and visited 67 countries, preaching serenity and harmony. He even served as a visiting professor at my alma mater, Emory University, in Atlanta.
For his efforts,the Dalai Lama was granted the Nobel Peach Prize in 1989. Today, he stands as a beacon for hope for humanity as a whole in a troubled, polarized world. Irrespective of one’s religious beliefs, it’s hard not to admire His Holiness for all he has done to invoke stability, tranquility, and compassion across the globe.
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