Side Note

On Friday, the Dalai Lama was given the Democarcy Service Award from the United States. He gave a speach from the library of congress in the white house and I thought his speach was fantastic. He addressed sevral issues and how Democracy is the best government to deal with those problems. He was also asked a few questions from the audience that he answered in the end. Dalai Lama for those of you who do not know is a spiritual leader and teacher in Tibette. "Dalai" means "ocean" in Mongolian and "Lama" is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru". So, he is the "Ocean Teacher" which means he is a techer who is spiritually as great as the ocean. So, anyway...He was speaking on what he thought democracy was about and he said it is important to listen and respect other people. He said individual freedom and equality is important. He explained that he thinks it is best in his ideal government to rely on the ancient texts of the masters. Also that buddhism teaches you to have respect for others, how to keep calm, to devote human strangth, and how to tell right from wrong. He was asked how he felt about China and he responded by saying that China does not care about Marxism. They are only concerned with money money money. He called China corrupt and said they are a communist body with no communist ideals. The Dalai Lama said he looks at things with a Holistic view to see if something can be done. Lastly he said "WE ALL HAVE SOME CAPACITY, SOME POTENTIAL, IT'S AL IN HOW WE DEDICATE OUR BODY, SPIRIT, AND MIND."