Lama Surya Das passed on this fascinating bit. Richard Blum, who is the husband of California Senator Diane Feinstein, also happens to be a major supporter of Buddhism. He was up on the platform during the swearing in.
Beforehand, he told Barack Obama that he had with him a white khata -- a silk Tibetan scarf -- given him by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Blum described what happened next in a letter to an associate of the Dalai Lama:
"I offered it to President Obama before the ceremony. I said that I could get it delivered to him later. He said, no, that he was going to take it and have it with him; in fact, it was in his pocket when he was sworn-in."
What's the significance? Lama Surya Das, one of the nation's leading Buddhist monks/teachers, explains:
"The meaningful symbolic gesture of our youthful new president keeping the Dalai Lama's blessing scarf in his pocket during the inaugeration certainly augurs good things for Obama, for us and for the country and the world, in its way, however great or small; but I think it's we ourselves who have to help the new president and his team of allies, give of our best to the collective good right now in these troubled times, and not wait for someone else or perhaps divine intercession to do it for us. I like to remember the old Middle Eastern saying: 'Trust in Allah but tie up your camel.'"
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Thanks Vicki. You are right, and have given me a gift through your comment.
It's my belief that if anyone points fingers and claims someone is not a "real Buddhist" is speaking from ignorance. Judgement of others is the antithesis of the teachings. One of my favorite stories of Lord Buddha is as follows: A monk saw another monk breaking a vow. He went to Lord Buddha to tell on him. Lord Buddha stated,"I came up with the vows for YOU." Or, as our culture understands, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." I feel what happened with the kata was beautiful.
As Chairman of the American Himalayan Foundation, Richard Blum has directly and generously assisted hundreds of projects and worthy, needy and dedicated individuals across the Himalaya. AHF's carefully vetted work focuses on helping Tibetans within Tibet and in poor refugee committees outside of Tibet -- old folks' homes, schools, agriculture, etc. In this context, if one were to suggest that Blum shouldn't have a kata from HHDL, perhaps they should suggest the same about some celebrities and others who happen to have been able to gain access to the Dalai Lama.
Mu!
I think that Obama is a very inclusive president. His wife wore a dress made by a Cuban-American designer during the inauguration, and also a dress made by an Asian-American designer. Both of these designers were foreign born. So for Obama to have a Tibetan blessing scarf in his pocket during his inauguration makes his inauguration even more inclusive than it would otherwise have been. Of course, it could also be construed the wrong way by the Chinese, politically that is. But I doubt it.
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