I've never been a big fan of the DL -- nor of Bush -- but I admire him for actually saying something that is so obviously politically incorrect.
I wonder how much of his comments below about war and fighting terrorism harken back to his own experience with the Chinese Communists. After all, the DL at one point attempted to cozy up to Mao in the early days and hoped that appeasement, thinking-only-the-best-of-someone, and a non-violence-above-all-else approach would help his people. But, of course, the opposite happened and his people, culture, and religion were devastated. Perhaps he realizes that carrying a big stick has its advantages in the world when confronting evil and bullies. After all, his kumbayah approach not only didn't work but got a million or so of his fellow Tibetans killed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jst...@...> wrote: > > From a post on the Google Group soc.culture.iraq: > > [The Dalai Lama] came out and told people he and Bush > instantly hit it off and he loved the warmonger. He > said he would withhold judgment on the attack of > Iraq. He also said he supported Bush's ``war on > terror'' because, according to him, some humans are > just inherently evil, referring to the Muslim > ``extremists'' Bush branded for the kill. > > http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iraq/msg/f9c39c6c9d539681 > > http://tinyurl.com/cag4ys > > > A reader of the National Review Online's blog, The > Corner, paraphrases the Dalai Lama answering > questions after a recent speech in Cambridge, Mass.: > > Audience member: "Can you give us an example of a > leader we should look up to as a positive > influence?" > > Dalai Lama (after thinking for a few seconds): > "President Bush. I met him personally and liked him > very much. He was honest and straightforward, and > that is very important. I may not have agreed with > all his policies, but I thought he was very honest > and a very good leader." > > http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDM5YWFiOTA4YzkyOTViODk5NDIzMDg0MTU5YTIyMzE= > > http://tinyurl.com/d26954 > > > From The Times of India: > > The Dalai Lama, a lifelong champion of non-violence > on Saturday candidly stated that terrorism cannot be > tackled by applying the principle of ahimsa because > the minds of terrorists are closed. > > "It is difficult to deal with terrorism through > non-violence," the Tibetan spiritual leader said > delivering the Madhavrao Scindia Memorial Lecture > here [in New Delhi]. > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Non-violence_cant_tackle_terror_Dalai_/articleshow/3995810.cms > > http://tinyurl.com/9sydqr > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajradhatu@> wrote: > > > > At MIT, Dalai Lama offers ethics, humor (Corrected) > > > > Posted by James F. Smith April 30, 2009 06:44 PM > > > > FROM ASIA > > TO BOSTON > > At MIT today, the Dalai Lama spoke at an inaugural event for a new > > institute in his name, the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and > > Transformative Values. He tempered his provocative ideas about > > promoting ethics in a secular society with a stream of lively banter. > > > > In the nearly full Kresge Auditorium, he kidded a Catholic monk in > > the front row about his less than perfectly shaved head, unlike the > > Buddhist monks in the hall. Sitting cross-legged on a sofa, he > > recalled that he had visited a homeless shelter in San Francisco the > > other day and told a man he met that he, too, had suffered the same > > fate after he went into exile in 1959. "I said, 'me too. Homeless'." > > > > > >  > > > > His talk centered on how to achieve genuine compassion -- not the > > kind that people easily muster for friends who share their views, but > > compassion for those they don't agree with. > > > > The Dalai Lama also said the ethics center should search for ways to > > help secular people build ethical values, arguing that most of the > > world's six billion people are non-believers who won't get their > > ethics through their religious values. > > > > He asked the Catholic monk whether secularism means rejection of > > religion, to which the monk replied, "that depends on your experience > > of secularism." > > > > "Very wise answer," the Dalai Lama told him to laughter. "We need to > > promote secular ethics through education." > > > > The address took place in the same hall where the Dalai Lama held a > > remarkable five-hour debate in 2003 with several prominent scientists > > about Buddhism and the science of the mind. That public conference, > > "Investigating the Mind," allowed scientists and the Dalai Lama to > > reflect on meditation and mental focus. > > > > He said yesterday that scientists may be non-believers but they treat > > issues with honesty, the key to ethical behavior. "This honesty, > > truthfulness and calmness lead to compassion," he said. "It also > > brings a calm mind." > > > > And then he stopped with a shrug, saying, "Anyhow, enough," and asked > > for questions. > > > > The Dalai Lama had some imaginative ideas for MIT scientists to work > > for peace. > > > > "You could invent an injection for compassion," he said. "I would > > want that." And maybe commerce could contribute: "You could have > > shops selling compassion. In a supermarket, you could buy compassion." > > > > A student asked about ethics and the weapons industry. The Dalai > > Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent > > campaign for Tibetan rights, said he hoped this would be the century > > for global demilitarization. But a good start, he said, would be for > > institutions like MIT to invent a bullet "that misses ordinary people > > but hits the decision makers," waving his arm in the path of a > > wiggling bullet to laughter and applause. "That kind of bullet needs > > to be developed. Wonderful." > > > > (Correction: in the original version of this post, I called the event > > a fund-raiser. In fact, nearly all the tickets were given out free to > > MIT students.) > > >
