5th Dalai Lama Puns

This is being slowly added to. Here's what I've got so far.

Lǐ Zìchéng took Běijīng in 1644 and killed the Chóngzhēn Emperor as in our timeline, but instead of just being defeated and limping with a reduced army back to Běijīng, they were killed in battle at Shānhǎiguān by the Manchu/turncoat-Míng forces.

During this time a warlord named Zhāng Xiānzhōng had managed to gain control of Sìchuān following the collapse of Northern Míng, and ruled the province with ruthless efficiency through their ministers Wáng Zhàolín and Lǐ Dìngguó. Wáng Zhàolín helped to feed the cities through confiscation of food from the peasantry alongside a state monopoly on land. Their policy of liquidating temples, shrines, monasteries, tombs, and estates was extremely unpopular among those of a religious inclination and the remnants of the old minor gentry, but this massive influx of money and treasure allowed the state to reliably pay the army and provide the peasantry with a wage to pay for price-fixed food earned through labor on state-owned land.

Former landowners and gentry were offered positions as officials, but any who profited from state-owned food were severely punished and a secret police network ensured compliance with food distribution orders and the controlled conversion of confiscated treasure to state funds. This brutally autarkic set of policies, inspired by Wáng's Neo-Legalism (Xīn Fǎzhì Zhǔyì), prevented mass starvation at a war-torn time of breakdown in international economic connections, created a strong base of both urban and peasant support, and allowed Zhāng to amass a considerable and loyal fighting force under their command.

Wáng is widely known to have believed Zhāng to be a second Hóngwǔ Emperor with the heavenly mandate to reunify Huáxià and regain its place of preeminence. He followed Zhāng to the ends of the earth. Lǐ Dìngguó, on the other hand, acted as a foil to Wáng and tempered not only Zhāng Xiānzhōng's characteristic rage and paranoia, but also their prejudice against the Sìchuānrén, at critical moments.

For example, when a large fire swept through Chéngdū during official state examinations vital for filling the new bureaucracy, Wáng Zhàolín advised the king to murder all ten thousand of the civil service candidates. However, at great cost to their own safety, Lǐ Dìngguó and a group of officers in Zhāng's army that they had connections with issued an ultimatum and threatened to revolt if the order were to be given. While many

Personally I really like the song and have been wondering for a while now why the song never really "made it" and what you guys think about it.

bring All-men Joy

If I was a Tibetan man

The worker asks “what can I get you”? The Dalai Lama asks “can you make me one with everything”?

For these folks who have spent their whole lives in the service of God, why hasn't God directed them to the missionaries or something?

Is this just an example of God using his children to serve in whatever capacities would be best and then they'll have a chance to receive the gospel after they die and will have all the same blessings a faithful member will?

Well, follow up a bit from the last post I made. We had 3 rehearsals so far to prepare for the event on 17th and 18th Dec. Apparently the organizers are a bit concerned that the Dalai Lama may teach so short that they are afraid of not enough question to fill the Q&A time. So they asked the moderator, who happens to be my teacher to come out with a few more questions as back up. My teacher asked me.

Thus I think it's a good opportunity to open this to the forum. You can comment what you want to ask dalai lama about.

Take note that the questions may not be able to be asked if there's not enough time. It's just backup questions. And it will be asked by others, so cannot ask personal questions such as: please read my mind, what's the best practise for me right now?

Also, if your questions can be answered by the regulars in this sub, maybe you want to ask the sub or the regulars can give answer.

I shall attempt to select 1 or 2 questions from the pool of available questions. Then after the event, I shall attempt to memorize the answer and type it back here as another post. And will mention the person who asked.

This is from an interview with José Ignacio Cabezón that I found in the 6th edition of the anthology Philosophy of Religion:

Question: It is generally said that teachers of other religions, no matter how great, cannot attain liberation without turning to the Buddhist path. Now suppose there is a great teacher, say he is a Śaivite, and suppose he upholds very strict discipline and is totally dedicated to other people all of the time, always giving of himself. Is this person, simply because he follows Śiva, incapable of attaining liberation, and if so, what can be done to help him?

His Holiness: During the Buddha’s own time, there were many non-Buddhist teachers whom the Buddha could not help, for whom he could do nothing. So he just let them be.

The Buddha Śākyamuni was an extraordinary being...But while some people recognized him as a Buddha, others regarded him as a black magician with strange and evil powers. So, you see, even the Buddha Śākyamuni himself was not accepted as an enlightened being by all of his contemporaries. Different human beings have different mental predispositions, and there are cases when even the Buddha himself could not do much to overcome these—there was a limit.

Now today, the followers of Śiva have their own religious practices and they reap some benefit from engaging in their own forms of worship. Through this, their life will gradually change. Now my own position on this question is that Śivaji's followers should practice according to their own beliefs and traditions, Christians must genuinely and sincerely follow what they believe, and so forth. That is sufficient.

Question: But they will not attain liberation!

His Holiness: We Buddhists ourselves will not be liberated at once. In our own case, it will take time. Gradually we will be able to reach mokṣa or nirvāṇa, but the majority of Buddhists will not achieve this within their own lifetimes. So there’s no hurry. If Buddhists themselves have to wait, perhaps many lifetimes, for their goal, why should we expect that it be different for non-Buddhists? So, you see, nothing much can be done.

Suppose, for example, you try to convert someone from another religion to the Buddhist religion, and you argue with them trying to convince them of the inferiority of their position. And suppose you do not succeed, suppose they do not become Buddhist. On the one hand, you have failed in your task, and on the other hand, you may have weakened the trust they h

I’m not in Vajrayana but all the teachers I listen to, Tibetan or otherwise, speak highly of him and he seems to be liked by all Buddhists that I’ve come across. Is this true?

I was born in a Hindu family in India. I came across Buddha and his principles while studying Indian history. I had to briefly read up about Buddha's life, the four noble truths, eightfold path etc., for my exam. From there I got interested in Buddhist philosophy. I started watching videos, reading articles and "The Heart of Buddha" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I have been doing all this from a secular and rational perspective. It was definitely helping me grow as a person and live my life better.

Though I knew about Dalai Lama since my childhood, I had never really followed him closely. Now, after broadly knowing about Buddhism and Siddhartha Gautama, I started watching Dalai Lama's speeches, interviews and discussions. I feel he is the closest person to The Buddha that I've ever come across. He has so much knowledge about the world affairs. He never emphasizes upon religious rituals or scriptures. He seems to be completely honest, logical and aware of practicality in this world. His words always promote compassion towards people, environment etc. He fits into my idea of Buddha that I developed in my brief study. Forgive me if I'm hurting any of your religious beliefs with this post but this is a honest opinion. I wanted to share it somewhere. Please feel free to add to it or oppose it.

Is it some sort of German inside joke?

If he is such an enlightened figure, shouldnt he have reached Nirvana instead of getting reincarnated multiple times? If he cannot reach Nirvana, who can?

A friend of mine just vented, and I'd have to agree... It's one thing to have a rock concert on Venues and allow everyone to scream in your ear....

But to try to listen to a lecture or something meaningful without the ability to mute the chaos is more than off-putting. It's just not worth it.

Am I missing a "mute all" function?