On May 20 through 23, His Holiness the Dalai Lama held a series of teachings and a public talk event in the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
I had the rare opportunity of attending one of the teaching sessions on the 22nd, A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, by Shantideva. The experience was a first for me in two ways: I have read about His Holiness in the newspapers and seen him on TV as Tibet's leader in exile for many years, however, I have never had the chance to see him in person until now; also, this event would be my first formal religious lecture. Although I grew up in a society where Buddhism is a big part of the culture, I have always found the ancient Buddhist texts, in Classical Chinese, difficult to comprehend and relate to. As I walked into the hall, it was clear that many in the audience are devoted followers of His Holiness and very serious Buddhists. Not knowing what to expect, I took my seat with much curiosity and a tinge of nervousness.
His Holiness covered several chapters in A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. To my surprise, both the text and his interpretations were very practical. In the two hours of teaching, His Holiness shared his insights on forbearance, meeting challenges, compassion for all beings, and elaborated quite a bit on meditation. One notion that really stuck with me from his lecture is that we are generally sensory-driven beings; as soon as we wake up, we are bombarded by massive amounts of data, in the form of sights, sounds, and tactile information. Most of us then spend our days reacting to these external stimuli. Sometimes we react well and everything seems fine; but sometimes we don't react well, and we feel a bit uneasy, tired, or even frustrated. Sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us. His Holiness suggested that, for brief periods of time, we direct the focus the attention inward, and use these short meditation sessions as a "battery charge" for the mind. Building from there, one can slowly train the mind to focus on the present.
Overall, I felt that the teaching session itself was a great battery charge as well. Not only was it refreshing to have seen and heard His Holiness in person, his message to me and hundreds of others in the audience was one of hope and care for all. I was definitely inspired to remind myself to stay true to what is important in life!
By, Chia Chun Chung
The Snow Lion Foundation
| 達賴喇嘛從五月二十日起在紐約市的無線電城音樂廳展開為期四天的佛法講授及公開演講. 我有幸參加了二十二日的 寂天菩薩《入菩薩行論》的講授. 在這之前我對達賴喇嘛的印象僅限於從媒體得來的資訊: 他是流亡中的圖博政教領袖,除此之外我了解的並不多. 這是我的第一堂宗教課. 小時候日常生活中雖然常接觸到佛教的元素, 自己卻始終覺得古文的佛經太過艱澀難懂. 也因此,行前心中充滿了好奇, 覺得這一趟應該會學到不少. 走進會場,和鄰座的觀眾聊了幾句, 發現大家好像都是達賴喇嘛的忠實信徒,對佛法也有一番研究. 從未認真鑽研過佛經的我不禁有點緊張.
在兩個小時裡, 達賴喇嘛講解了《入菩薩行論》裡的好幾個章節. 很快的, 我發現經文和講授內容都出乎我意料的淺出易入. 達賴喇嘛分享了他對不同課題的心得,包括了容忍, 面對挑戰, 慈悲心等等. 達賴喇嘛對"冥想",這個主題特別討論了不少. 令我覺得最值得深思的是: 大家醒著的時時刻刻都在不斷接收各種感官的刺激, 而我們每天要做的,就是不停的對這些外來的訊息作出反應. 有的時候適應良好, 但有的時候卻沒辦法調適, 因而覺得或累.或煩.或傷心... 達賴喇嘛提醒觀眾, 在忙碌的生活中撥出一小段時間, 把注意力放在內心世界, 為自己充電. 經由日積月累的練習, 慢慢的我們將學會屏除過去,未來, 活在當下.
回想當天,覺得聽達賴喇嘛的講授, 本身就是一個非常好的 "充電'. 達賴喇嘛的幽默,平易近人,柔中帶剛卻又樸實的風範, 感染了在場的觀眾.出場時看看四周的大家, 好像每個人都多了一點正面的力量. 我也不禁提醒自己,好好的堅持重要的理念, 一步步的走下去.
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