Teachings from the Dalai Lama
“You should cultivate love directed toward your own friends and relatives,then shift that attention to neutral persons and then on to your enemies as well.”
I Live Inspired will be donating approx. 75% of all profits from the Dalai Lama Community to the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center so that it can continue to grow and educate.
His Three Main Commitments in Life
Firstly, on the level of a human being, His Holiness' first commitment is the promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline. All human beings are the same. We all want happiness and do not want suffering. Even people who do not believe in religion recognize the importance of these human values in making their life happier. His Holiness refers to these human values as secular ethics. He remains committed to talk about the importance of these human values and share them with everyone he meets.
Secondly, on the level of a religious practitioner, His Holiness' second commitment is the promotion of religious harmony and understanding among the world's major religious traditions. Despite philosophical differences, all major world religions have the same potential to create good human beings. It is therefore important for all religious traditions to respect one another and recognize the value of each other's respective traditions. As far as one truth, one religion is concerned, this is relevant on an individual level. However, for the community at large, several truths, several religions are necessary.
Thirdly, His Holiness is a Tibetan and carries the name of the 'Dalai Lama'. Tibetans place their trust in him. Therefore, his third commitment is to the Tibetan issue. His Holiness has a responsibility to act as the free spokesperson of the Tibetans in their struggle for justice. As far as this third commitment is concerned, it will cease to exist once a mutually beneficial solution is reached between the Tibetans and Chinese.
However, His Holiness will carry on with the first two commitments till his last breath.
About the TMBCC
I Live Inspired is proud to be partnering with the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana. The center was founded in 1979 by Thubten Jigme Norbu (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's older brother). In 2005, His Holiness the Dalai Lama appointed Arjia Rinpoche, another former Abbot of Kumbum Monastery, to take over the directorship of the TMBCC. Norbu is still a part of the daily life of the TCC where he is honored as the Founder of the Tibetan Cultural Center and the foremost proponent in the world for the recognition and preservation of the culture of Tibet. Today the Cultural Center is expanding to include summer camps for Tibetan and Mongolian refugees, as well as housing monks from the famous Kumbum monastery in China and offering classes on Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism.
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About the Community Leader
Meet the Dalai Lama
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.
In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai. But finally, in 1959, with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile. Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a man of peace. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems.
His Holiness has travelled to more than 62 countries spanning 6 continents. He has met with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations. He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists.
Since 1959 His Holiness has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.
His Holiness describes himself as "a simple Buddhist monk".
