The Dalai Lama connects with Obama and McCain while at the Aspen Institute
Tuesday July 29, 2008
I just had the huge pleasure of spending three days with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado, with old friends and luminaries in the Tibet world. A sand mandala (sacred celestial mansion diagram) of...
Filed Under: Aspen Institute, China, Dalai Lama, McCain, Obama, Robert Thurman, Tibet, Why the Dalai Lama Matters
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Diana Butler Bass and Paul Raushenbush both stand firmly within the Mainline Protestant tradition and, along with guest bloggers of all religious backgrounds are dedicated to the revival of religious progressivism and its influence in American politics.
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Diana Butler BassDiana Butler Bass is a commentator and scholar in American religion. She is the author of seven books including A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009).
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Paul RaushenbushModerator of the Progressive Revival blog and the Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University.
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Gosh, what a way for a "liberal" or "progressive" religious blog to debut on beliefnet by using this deceptive if not dishonest headline to this blog entry:
"The Dalai Lama connects with Obama and McCain while at the Aspen Institute"
It's hard to see how His Holiness managed to "connect" with Obama, unless you want to count the polite letter drafted by some Obama staffer expressing the candidate's obligatory regrets for being a no-show.
At least Senator McCain took the time to actually visit with the Dalai Lama. Give McCain credit for "connecting" the old-fashioned way: face-to-face.
And, by the way, in the future, please dispense with the writing of dishonest headlines to your blog entries. It's a real turn-off.
All this juvenile excitement from the Muslim community reminds me of the election days of 2000 when Muslims were supporting Bush against Al Gore, just because his running mate was jewish and would be a problem for the so-called palestinian cause. Well time proved us stupid and our boasting that Bush "won" florida because of the Muslim vote, came back to haunt us.
I believe it's absurd that Muslims - of all people - would support obama who is a liberal and is in favor of things like abortion and same sex rights which go against our moral values. Also, let us not forget, that it is obama who has declared to attack within Pakistan (in essence, attack Pakistan) which is a Muslim nation.
I only agree with one thing that he says, that he is not a Muslim, and there is NO way, that he would be any benefit to the millions of Muslim americans who think of him as a saviour.
Write-in your votes Muslims, with your religion on your ballots. That would be enough to send a signal to the establishment in this country as to whom the future belongs to.
I agree with Reaganite.
In fairness the headline should read: "The Dalai Lama connects with McCain at the Aspen Institute."
Obama wasn't even there, for crying out loud.
Professor Thurman, if you wrote this headline, I wonder what it says about your fidelity to factual accuracy as a scholar and Columbia University professor.
Couldn't you have said "McCain and Obama both, for political purposes, try to connect with the Dalai Lama in Aspen." You could even have skipped the phrase "for political purposes" if you wished.
jinhen,
I'm afraid the headline you suggested wouldn't be accurate, either.
McCain did not "try" to connect with the Dalai Lama. Rather, he "succeeded" in "connecting" with His Holiness by investing the time and effort in traveling to Colorado and meeting with him.
Obama merely sent a staff-written note -- can you honestly call that "trying" on his part?
As for motives ("for political purposes"), what are the Dalai Lama's motives? Isn't his desire to meet with politicians also, partly at least, "for political purposes?" This is NOT to diminish the man's true goodness or the worthiness of his cause (freedom for his people); it is meant merely to be clear and honest as to at least one of his motives.
While I agree that the headline was misleading and unfortunate, I don't necessarily see McCain as more in tune with the ideology of the Dalai Lama. His schedule allowed him to be there, and I give him credit for that. However, if one examines each candidates views, it's pretty clear that McCain's war-mongering is not at all attuned to Buddhist principles. Not to say that Obama is a pacifist--he isn't. But his broad-minded thinking, openness and desire for change seem a better bet.
I agree with the misleading headline. But in all fairness, how do we know for sure that Obama did not personally write the letter to the Dalai Lama?
Rather than being motivated by FEAR. A fear that clouds one's clarity and truthfullness. I hope to see more positive comments on this article. Most comments are angry comments writen by bitter and angry poeple that would greatly benefit from taking a deep breath before being reactive. Judging both candidates for their actions is rather diminishing his Holiness's peaceful efforts. Perception based on emotions can be disapointing. Your title was appropriate and described the fact that they both reached out the best they could.
Gaetan
My only comment is it is too bad that Senator Obama did not have time in his schedule to meet with His Holiness. I do hope he will be able to find the time in his schedule for a meeting in the very near future.
Debra
Perhaps some day, I too, will be able to "know" the intentions of others. In the mean time, I will observe Noble Silence.
Dave
The Daqlai Lama and John Mcain in the same breath . I think not
THe Dalai Lama and Barack Obama - my spirit resonates with the compatability of the two.
How can a website that proposes to bring forth light do something so unfortunate - Just because he was there? hardly an excuse.
I look for more integrity coming from this site and expect those that write for this site to apologize to its readers - gently if you have to - but an apology is called for.
We who carry light ask humbly for an explanation as to how Mcain might be seen as a light carrier. He hangs out with Bush. Lives under a rock, and is over the hill.
Light is present here, and now and we welcome the opportunity to share it.
Peace
Mitch Gold
Wouldn't it be wonderful if each of our candidates spent an entire month studying and conversing with him? It would, perhaps, be life changing and give us all more hope for our collective future.
If America wants to elect a leader truly committed to a future of nonviolence, a meeting with the His Holiness the Dalai Lama is an excellent litmus test. Supporters of Obama should take note that he could not spare a moment to meet with him while John McCain could.
The Dalai Lama has already expressed that he supports the Green Party of the United States. Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party endorsed candidate for President, the best choice out of any candidate this year.
Peace,
-Kevin
The Dalai Lama for President in 2008!! That'd fix it!!!
I'm very surprised Obama couldn't meet with His Holiness. I hope a meeting can happen soon.
I feel that the few minutes our president spent with His Holiness may have made a difference. The reactions are three. Tears, laughter, joy.I can only hope that these men that have the fate of the world, literally, in their hands can find some peace in His Holiness's presence.
I find it amusing, in an ironic way, that when I visited this page an ad from John McCain was in the banner at the top of the page.
It asked if it was OK to unconditionally meet with anti-American foreign leaders. If you click on the ad, you are taken to a link where you are encouraged to support a candidate with "good judgment."
It isn't clear whether it is more naive to assume that through dialog lies peace, or that dialog will never work. Perhaps talking to anti-American leaders won't bring about peace, but it just seems more likely to do so than trying to bomb them back into the stone age.
It also isn't clear why such partisan political ads are being run here. Yeah, money is needed to run this site, but there have to be better sources. And, yes, I would have been as upset by an Obama ad, a Libertarian ad, a Green party ad, or any other political ad.
Mike
It too is astounding to me that Obama neglected to make time in his "busy" schedule for his holiness, I know, no matter HOW stressed and or "busy" I am, I sure would make time for the Dalai Lama, and have on more than one occasion. Some of our current world's greatest minds traveled all the way to Dharamsala to visit with his holiness, and as shown in the film "Dalai Lama Renaissance", and ended up with the Dalai Lama lecturing these great thinkers on compassion, and peace. I think that someone who can not meet with the Dalai Lama because they are "too busy" lacks the courage of their convictions, if a group of great minds had to travel from all over the world to see the Dalai Lama, it is a gross injustice that, without having to travel far, Obama coldly CHOSE to decline. Do you want someone leading your country that declines to meet with a nobel PEACE prize winner, as well as a holder of the congressional gold medal of honor?? I sure don't. McCain has set the bar with his displays of integrety, and compassion, and I am hard pressed to see, with this one thoughtless act, that Obama will rise to the occasion.
I liked the article and the sentiments it puts before the reader to work toward a more integrated world in which the characters of each nation are interwoven, not repelled.
The headline was fine with me. His Holiness's appreciation for contact by politicians whether in person or by letter shows his respect for the capacity of each well-intentioned person.
The headline is misleading, but not for the reasons stated -- The piece is mostly about Mr. Thurman's book, how if the candidates had read it, they would both have met with His Holiness. The fact that McCain met with him shows that he is more politically astute, nothing more, nothing less.
Namaste.
I found the title of the article quite accurate. His Holiness the Dalai Lama not only spent time with the Republican candidate, John McCain, but there was also a communication of sorts with the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. The article presented a very relevant truth: With China capturing the complete attention of the world right now and in the years to come, it is vital that our next President better understand the history and the true story of what has and is transpiring in Tibet. In the same vein as former secretary of state Madeleine Albright's book "Memo To The President Elect", Professor Robert Thurman's book "Whe The Dalai Lama Matters" is both an excellent and informative read as well as a profound resource for our next US President.
This is an aside on the ongoing Tibetan-Chinese power struggle. I was recently involved in Asian studies with the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. We had a guest professor from the University of Pennsylvania who lived through Mao's Chinese Cultural Revolution. She was a female professor's daughter raised to believe in herself (i.e. she had equal worth to her male counterparts.) In her teens she was separated from her disgraced parents and sent to work with the peasants in the countryside. She took this treatment in stride. Far from embittering her, it enlightened her as to how most of her countrymen lived. The answers to two questions I asked her both astonished me.
First, I asked if the mothers in China valued male children over female children. She said of course, they were raised with that belief, (even though that was not her belief, because she was raised by the elite educational class). Then I asked her her feelings on the Chinese occupation of Tibet. She said simply and irrefutably, 'it is not an occupation. Tibet is ours.'
At first I was taken aback. Then it occurred to me that Britain's King George and America's Abraham Lincoln had similar responses when regions of "their" countries wanted to secede. Which raises the question, who has the right to choose who rules, if not the ruled? And why?
barak obama had just given a moving speech in berlin. . . that, in my opinion speaks more to the truth to which the dalai lama stands than a politician who physically meets with the dalai lama for what could be construed as a photo op in a campaign which needs to represent a candidate who has not espoused peace either in his words publicly or in his actions, for example his voting record on any manner of humanitarian issues during his tenure in the senate.
i, for one, can fall behind an individual who walks the talk, and does not have to leave an important mission to meet with a this treasure we call the dalai lama.
the evidence that he is philosophically aligned and simpatico is enough for me. the fact that obama did not abandon his mission in europe and the middle east in order to return to the US to meet with his holiness does not say ANYTHING to me about declining to meet. that was not the flavor of obama's actions in choosing to writet to rather than meet with the dalai lama summit.
no problem.
:) dina
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