"Things Change, Kundun!"
Buddhism is not easy; it's not all expressions of peace and good-will. Buddhism is the most profound
commitment to achieving the state of mindful non-resistance to What Is, the state in which all illusion disappears and one is absorbed into the Void - being conscious without thinking, being one with the energy that underlies all existence. The first step toward enlightenment is the recognition of Impermanence as the abiding truth of existance. So enormous is the challenge of enlightenment that Buddhists are in awe of Siddartha's advancement beyond the necessity for re-birth. A being who achieves full liberation from re-birth and the suffering that attends it, is as huge as the universe and participates in the creative power of Reality. That is a mind-boggling perspective and that is why Buddhists create huge statues of the Buddha and perform ceremonies which to Western eyes look like worshipping Buddha as 'God'. The failing is not in Buddhists - even the most naive and 'primitive' - it is in our blind assumption that the only form of reverence is the monotheistic practice of 'worship'. Similarly, Buddhists do not 'worship' the Dali Lama; they revere him as the voluntary re-incarnation of the spirit of Buddha for the purpose of assisting all sentient beings to reach the state of enlightenment. Volunteering to come back to physical existence as a Dalai Lama is deemed to be the highest form of compassion there is and Buddhists are intensely grateful to the Dalai Lama for returning to help all sentient beings to achieve The Great Liberation. Kundun is an excellent introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and the child who was identified as the re-incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. In this lifetime he is known as Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.
The film mentioned in this post is available for purchase or rental HERE.
© Delia O'Riordan 2012
