Written by Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to see this remarkable movie. It was entitled, “Compassion in Exile.” It had to do with the current Dalai Lama, and his life as it has unfolded from the point of his remarkable birth to the current time when he is most interested in promoting peace in the world. Perhaps some time should be taken in describing what are the traditional practices and ceremonies that usually are practiced in finding this little boy, even sometimes before he is physically born.
You see, the current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth in the lineage, is but one of an ongoing chain of beings who are in turn part of an ongoing lineage of which he himself is the current reincarnation. So this entire practice hinges entirely upon the full belief in reincarnation, which some people still argue is not a fact of life. I can sympathize to a point. I can admit that when first being presented with this “eastern” concept, I too balked and stalled in my own thinking. I guess the very concept of this being true seemed to disagree with my own basic thinking, at least as far as it had come when I was only 17 years old. At that age, some of us thought that we knew it all, at least all that we were aware of that comprised life then. And this, no doubt, is the basis behind such things as the card that says on its face, “Hire a teenager, while they still know everything.” A joke no doubt.
So, I too had some difficulty accepting this which now I see clearly is one of the only ways to explain so many things we encounter in this life. So many inequalities, for instance, can be explained when one truly understands it’s basic premises. So, when this was finally explained to me in a way that I could finally comprehend, then, of course, it made all kinds of sense, and the world got another believer in the reincarnation theory of life.
So, I too can sympathize to some extent with those who steadfastly refuse to believe in it. I also have come to know the difference between what has been called an “honest skeptic*,” and a person who has their mind made up already, and simply takes on a debate with a believer in it to argue the point. A very wise man once said that a truly enlightened soul never argues about anything. They know that to do so is fruitless, only ending in bad feelings.
Back to the Dalai Lama. So when the current one holding the office is nearing the end of his life, it is customary for this one to actually predict the approximate date and location of his re-embodiment. He usually states this to his attending Lamas, and they simply write down the information and wait for that suggested time to elapse for them to begin the search for his return.
He will usually have given some hints, such as the general area of the country where he expects to be reborn, and the approximate date too. So at that time, several lamas, preferably some of those who have known him personally, go in search of this little child, praying all the way for a successful reunion.
In most cases that I know of, their search has been successful. The Lamas have with them when they search, some articles that once belonged to the previous Lama, such as his eating bowl, his prayer beads, and some other personal items that belonged to him, that are used to identify the little one. The process is fascinating to those of us who are interested in this subject.
When they have found a likely candidate, they call on the parents of the home that has been pointed out, and respectfully let them know who they are, what their business is there, and can they see the little one. Usually, due to the general knowledge in that country, Tibet, of the religious practices and their own adherence to these same beliefs, the parents are at least open to bringing the little one to meet the lamas in person. Usually, the ones who have known him best are the first ones to approach him, and they begin by placing those familiar items in front of him, and alongside these, they place identical items, but much newer and usually shinier than the older ones are.
The general feeling is that most babies will be drawn to the brighter objects, and will not choose the older, at times worn-out items right next to them. So, the process is on. What we’re told is that the child, if he is the correct soul in that little body, will always seek and pick the ones that belonged to him.
It is also common for the little one to show recognition of at least one or more of the visitors, usually indicating the one he was closest to first. So, these preliminaries completed, the decision is made to consider that this one is indeed the reborn Lama, and discussions are held with the parents to see how they feel about the little one’s beginning education. At this point, time is allowed for the parents to deliberate on how in tune they really are with this whole process, and at times, they do so only after a wait of some years. In any event, the parents usually decide to let the little one go with the Lamas when they return to accompany the boy to his new home in the Potala.
The Potala is the traditional home of Tibetan Buddhism and is a very old building that looms over the town of Lhasa in Tibet. When the Chinese took over the country of Tibet, claiming it as their own, it of course fell out of the hands of the Lamas there and was largely abandoned, rather than endure terrible treatment at the hands of the largely atheistic Chinese government. It is to be noted that just before this happened, the current Dalai Lama, only a boy of about 15, noticed the bad intentions and occasional messages sent to him by Mao Tse Tung, the head of the Communist Party, and the leader of China at that time. He knew that he had to go visit Mao in his own country and plead for the freedom of Tibet. He went, and found much to his sadness, that neither was Mao in any way sympathetic to his cause, but was as he put it, “an enemy of Dharma.” He knew right then, that any further exchanges with this man would be fruitless, so he came home to Tibet. It so happened that shortly after this time, he learned that the Chinese forces were in the process of invading his beloved home country of Tibet, and had to flee. With lots of help, he and a small party escaped under the cover of darkness at night, and since that time, he hasn’t been able to even visit his country again. Thus, the title of that movie is “Compassion in Exile.”
This gives a short report on how it has been with the Dalai Lama, since then. He has grown in so many ways, and simply lives traveling the world in hopes of convincing as many world leaders as he can reach of his simple message that unless we find a peaceful solution to our differences, we all shall end in total self-destruction. Fortunately, he has been well received in most world capitals and has met with most of the world leaders over time.
When not traveling, he lives in the north of India, in the city of Dharmsala.
There, he has received many refugees from Tibet, where they always come to greet him and receive his personal blessings, as they start new lives.
Recently, a TV show named “The Unexplained” on Bio Channel, there was a show that examined the subject of Reincarnation scientifically. It claimed to have three cases of people who all claimed that they had been someone else before their current life, and in all cases, there were significant proofs that somehow vindicated them and their suspicions of former lives.
The most interesting story to me was that of a young man born in Canada. He was born to a Canadian couple and was named Elijah. Ary was the surname of that family. So he grew up, normally at first, but when he was three years old, he began to speak of a former life, that of a Tibetan lama.
When some Tibetan lamas came to visit that town and visited their home, he got to see them for the first time up close. He seemed especially drawn to one of them in particular, and simply stared at him for a long time as this man was in the room. That night, as he was being tucked into bed by his mom, he began to speak of having been someone before he was Elijah. At first, she simply listened to the boy, not quite knowing what to think. But then, he began to speak in a foreign language, which sounded to her like Tibetan.
So it was, as the next day was to prove. They spoke to the lama at whom he had been staring the day before, and that man knew enough to listen very intently as little Elijah began to name some names that this Lama knew of.
When the Lama left the next day, he promised to get back to the Ary family, telling them of his findings in Tibet and after speaking with the Dalai Lama himself.
So it was that after a period of time, the family received a letter in which it was said that there was enough proof of this, going on what the boy had said, that they would like to inquire more closely. It was also mentioned that the Dalai Lama himself would be visiting within a short amount of time, his first visit to the West and that he’d like to meet little Elijah then. So they met, and at the point of meeting, the Dalai Lama himself pointed out the boy and told him that he recognized him from before. He also gave the boy a Tibetan name, Tenzin Sherab, which the boy accepted and used from that time onward.
Later, after that meeting, another letter was received by the parents of little Elijah, and it was asking for him to be brought to Tibet where he could see for himself what had been in his past life, and see if he wanted to continue in it, the tradition in which he had been a very renowned Teacher of Buddhism. This was later accomplished, and it was the little boy’s mother herself who took him there. The rest of the story is equally as remarkable. It turns out that young Tenzin Sherab was fully accepted into the traditional ways and lifestyle of the form of Buddhism that he had been most accustomed to, and fit right in. He quickly learned the Tibetan language all over again, learned the many chants and prayers that were the daily practice of all the other lamas, and eventually earned himself a title in that tradition. It is the way of these Buddhist Lamas to debate over certain points of their laws, and that way, they prove their knowledge of any subject that is given for them to debate upon. For this reason alone, an elder lama will take the opposite position in a debate, and the one being tested must prove himself.
In this documentary, young Tenzin is shown during this debate, and seems to be doing well, and even enjoying this part of his own testing, as he is doing this with a big smile on his face, showing confidence and knowledge too. Shortly after this point, it is said that both he and the Dalai Lama agreed that he could do more good in his life if he were more accessible to the outer western world, so he renounced his lama vows, and moved to Paris, France. He now is married there and looks forward to teaching at the University.
If you are interested, there are some things written about him already. One of these is a book, entitled, “Reborn in the West,” by Vicki Mackenzie. There is also an article or two about him to be found on Google, the search engine.
I merely bring him up due to the growing interest in reincarnation in the West, and that is something that we, as seekers of Truth, need to be aware of. You never know when such a case may cross your path. And if there is ever any controversy connected with it, you may be called in to state your opinion. I trust you wouldn’t be either too busy or too shy to state what you know to be true. That is if you do fully accept the doctrine of Reincarnation’s truth.
It is with great pleasure that I notice all the attention that mystical subjects are getting in the mainstream media. When your whole life has been an ongoing proof of these things as the truth of life, then you begin to be able to rejoice and celebrate that the whole world is now coming into those states of mind. And so as I see more and more TV shows with these topics as their main ones, such as The Ghost Whisperer, and others too, it is a sign of the times. At last, more and more of our brethren are beginning to seek “outside of the box” that was imposed upon most of us by many outer sources, including our families, our orthodox religions, and their “scare tactics” to get us to be good, like the fundamentally wrong belief in hell.
In case some of you may have missed it, in a previous issue of our newsletter, we shared an article of questions and answers that were handled by our dear friend, who was once Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when last on earth. He answered a particular question asked of him which had to do with the concept of hell, and how incredibly unlikely it is, when seen logically.
So, if any of you are interested enough, perhaps you could find that copy, and read his answer there, as it will bring much clarity to this subject.
As the world seems to “grow smaller”, due to such things as the internet and various computer-operated systems of communication, we seem to be learning more and more about what our brethren are doing in other parts of the world. We also are now freer than ever to be in touch or in fuller communication with others of like mind anywhere in the globe that we like. So, it also follows that we are learning more about what we all have in common and what some of our perceived differences are. This is giving us all a more truthful and accurate worldview, and after the dust settles, we can see that in fact, we are by far more similar, with similar problems to solve, and similar things that we all cherish, like happy family life, prosperity, etc.
I wrote this article simply to acquaint any of you not so familiar with the ways and the world of the Dalai Lama, for I personally believe that before he leaves this world, he will do more things that will promote world peace and happiness. I have only met him once personally, but I find it easy to keep up on his current activities. I urge you who feel the affinity with his mission to be attentive to his comings and goings, just in case you can be of some help to him. It seems to me that he is a living, functioning unit of our heavenly family, and so to heed him seems a good thing to do. Just a thought for the day.
*An “honest” skeptic, is a true lover of the truth. They know that there are many rumors and lies that circulate amongst humanity, and they are seeking the truth, and so need some evidence to believe anything. That is, in my opinion, a very logical and sane approach to finding that truth they seek.
These people have usually been deceived in some ways, and so know the fact that it is easy to be deceived, and that there are those who would do this.
The other variety of skeptics is very different in various ways. They seem to be open-minded, and want to learn more about the subject matter, so they are eager to discuss the topic at hand. But in truth, they already have their minds made up, and know just what they will say to simply refute the claims of truth that are being made before them. In other words, they come into a discussion fully prepared to argue their point, and will only rarely agree with the other point of view, regardless of the evidence presented to them.
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