The Dalai Lama Sparks a Fever for Tibetan Buddhism

On March 22, the Dalai Lama, Nobel-prize-winning spiritual and political leader of Tibet, began a five-day series of lectures and interviews of a religious nature in Taiwan. In addition, he met with ROC President Lee Teng-hui. The Buddhist community put immense effort into his reception, and the Dalai Lama's particularly sensitive status sparked a debate in political circles over the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty. The nature of his meeting with President Lee even attracted international notice. Nevertheless, most of his admirers were simply happy to see the Dalai Lama come to Taiwan and only hoped to glimpse the dignified deportment of this crusader for human rights who has experienced a wealth of hardship.

Invited by Master Chinghsin, head of the Buddhist Association of the ROC, the Dalai Lama (born Tenzin Gyatso) arrived in Taiwan under the watchful eye of the whole society. Every place he visited was packed with crowds. His first public talk took place at the Kaohsiung Stadium, where 50,000 listeners braved drizzling rain, drawn by his extraordinary charisma. The principal events of this visit included two public talks, in Kaohsiung on March 23 and in Taoyuan on March 25, as well as meetings with religious leaders on March 24, a meeting with the Buddhist Youth Association on the evening of March 25 and a Buddhist consecration ceremony on March 26. All of the free tickets were completely snatched up. The unabating popularity of the book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, coupled with the arrival of the Dalai Lama, have created an unprecedented passion in Taiwan for Tibetan Buddhism.

Besides engaging in an exchange between the Tibetan Lamaist and the Chinese traditions of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama's principal goals on his first visit to Taiwan were to learn of the current state of Tibetan Buddhism on the island, and to pay special attention to Taiwan's Tibetan Buddhist devotees. In particular, the Dalai Lama wished to learn more about the institution of the Buddhist nunnery, a tradition never established in Tibet itself, but widely prevalent on Taiwan.

The Lamaist branch of Buddhism is referred to in Chinese with the character 密 (mi), meaning "esoteric." For this reason, and also because its rites and practices include such disciplines as creating wealth, increasing wisdom and preserving health, it has always hidden behind a veil of mystery in Taiwan. The Dalai Lama's visit engendered the desire among a great portion of society to peek into the mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism. Many people, however, also wanted to rub a little luck off the Dalai Lama's person. A rumor had it that each participant had to donate US$20,000 to take part in the consecration ceremony, and there were still people who could not get in. At one of the Dalai Lama's public talks, some people sold autographed photos of the Tibetan leader for NT$2000 a piece. There were even people who paid special attention to the bodhi tree planted personally by the Dalai Lama; some stroked it, others had their pictures taken with it, and there were even some who climbed up on it. One couldn't help feeling pity for those who engaged in such antics. In this world few people, past or present, have been able to resist the attractions of fame and fortune; how could we expect the Taiwanese to be any different?

Besides his religious pursuits, the 14th Dalai Lama is also the highest political leader of the Tibetan people. In 1959, he hurriedly fled his country in the face of a PLA war of repression. He set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala in India. He enjoys respect and sympathy from people all over the world, yet he has never been able to reach a consensus with the Chinese communists, and he still must continue to struggle for the right of self-rule for the Tibetan people, to preserve the remaining Tibetan culture and religious faith. This is indeed regrettable and sad.

The Dalai Lama's role as a political leader inevitably lent political associations to his visit to Taiwan and sparked political speculation. Whenever he has accepted invitations of political leaders of other countries throughout the world, he invariably has drawn vigorous protests from Beijing. Before his arrival, the PRC had already, via foreign affairs spokesman Shen Guofang and State Council Office of Taiwan Affairs spokesman Wang Yonghai, denounced the occasion as "the meeting of Taiwan Independence and Tibetan Independence!" The visit was also roundly lambasted in the mainland's official media, which claimed that "the present government on Taiwan has taken a new step toward Taiwan independence." Upon his arrival in Taiwan, both supporters of Taiwan independence and of reunification with mainland China staked out their own battle positions. There were some who welcomed him, while those who opposed him protested. Yet, unable to avoid being mired down in their own preconceived, subjective ideology, they could only blur the focus of the Dalai Lama's visit. The Tibetan leader's reaction to the scene-to voice support for "freedom of expression"-was truly worthy of admiration, and proved him to be a learned man. At the press conference, when the issue of Tibet was put forward, Dalai Lama reiterated that he doesn't want to pursue independence for Tibet, nor is he a separatist, as the Beijing regime labels him. He hoped that the Taiwanese media would not cover his visit from a political perspective.

Be this as it may, the Beijing regime, as well as the local media, paid considerable attention to the Dalai Lama's meeting with President Lee Teng-hui. The President's office repeatedly stated that this appointment was an "historic meeting between masters of philosophy." They did not breach the matter of politics.

The much-anticipated "philosophical encounter" took place at 9:30 am on March 27 at the Taipei Guest House. President Lee expressed his admiration for the Tibetan leader's advocacy of love and non-violence, revering him as a pacifist, and hoping to have more cultural exchanges with the Tibetan people. For his part, the Dalai Lama affirmed the idea of spiritual reform which President Lee recently promoted. The Dalai Lama thought that the ample material achievements of Taiwan are not necessarily beneficial for spiritual development. He hoped that the kind and happy Taiwanese people would pursue the purification of the mind, so that they might make a contribution to all of human society. Throughout their meetings, the Dalai Lama and President Lee spoke completely in English. The Dalai Lama congratulated Lee on being the first democratically elected president in the 5000-year history of China. However, no other political topic was touched upon during their conversation.

When looking back on the visit of the Dalai Lama, this highly respected spiritual leader and advocate of peace with a global presence, one cannot help feeling that its true significance has been missed amidst a great commotion. One cannot help regretting that Taiwan has a less than complete understanding of Tibetan culture and religion, and is unable to enrich itself with this "treasure of wisdom" on a deeper level. We ought to spend less time in search of pop stars, and more time in search of wisdom-a wisdom not derived from the initiatory rituals of religious leaders, but from one's own diligent pursuit of spiritual attainment, and from humility and tolerance. Let us hope that the next time the Dalai Lama visits our land, we will be able to show him a more lovable Taiwan.

(A brief introduction to the origins of the Tibetan tradition of consecration is available from Sinorama. Those who are interested are welcome to write in for a free copy.)

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The Dalai Lama is a charismatic figure, and his visit evoked a great response, leaving the Dalai Lama with a strong impression of the intensity of Taiwan's people's feelings. The photo shows the Dalai Lama lecturing on Buddhist thought at the Taoyuan domed stadium; this Living Buddha is a paragon of serenity and character.

(photo by Diago Chiu)

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Devotees being blessed during a Lamaist ceremony of abhisecani. (photo by Diago Chiu)