Finding Nirvana (Updated)

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wisconsin Public Radio

Prx, Philosophy, Knowledge, Wpr, Ttbook, Wisconsin, Society & Culture

4.7 • 844 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2016

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the Dalai Lama enters his ninth decade, we reflect on his legacy and remarkable personal history. Also, how various Eastern spiritual traditions have taken root in the West - from yoga to meditation. And the legacy of California's famous utopian experiment at Esalen and its "religion of no religion." The Happy Buddhist; Can a Video Game Teach Kids to Meditate?; Meditation on Death Row; The Religion of No Religion; A Rapper's Homage to Ganesh.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for WPR comes from the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown lacrosse near historic district dining and chops and the Great River State Bike Trail with an indoor saltwater pool, breakfast, and Wi-Fi. Hampton Lacrosse Downtown.com.
0:18.2	It's to the best of our knowledge. I'm Anne Strange Champs. Today, finding nirvana.
0:27.4	The Dalai Lama is now 80 years old. He's the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and the de facto ambassador for Buddhism around the world.
0:36.5	But over the years, he's become something even bigger,
0:40.1	a global spiritual leader with a universal message, be kind, and be happy. How can you not love
0:48.8	someone like that? Plus, he radiates joy. I remember seeing him once in a crowded stadium, and he was this tiny figure in crimson and gold robes, and when he giggled, the entire place broke up.
1:02.7	And all of this despite what he's endured, life and exile, the loss of his country. So how did this one man turn an obscure Tibetan religion into a global
1:14.1	philosophy that inspires millions of people? Steve Paulson turned to journalist and psychologist
1:19.5	Daniel Goldman. He's been a friend of the Dalai Lama's for decades, and he's come out with a book
1:24.0	called A Force for Good, the Dalai Lama's vision for our world.
1:28.5	Dan, the Dalai Lama has been in the public eye for so long that it's easy to forget how unusual a person he is on the global stage.
1:36.8	Just the fact that he was for decades, both the spiritual and the political leader of the Tibetan people, can you put his life in some perspective?
1:44.4	Well, you know, he was reared for a very traditional role in an arch-traditional society,
1:50.6	pre-communist Tibet, which was in some ways very medieval. And it was a country that, like
1:57.5	the Vatican, I suppose, was run by a religious figure.
2:01.9	When the communists invaded in the 50s, it became increasingly clear that they were going to
2:07.8	not let Tibet continue to have its religious freedom or cultural freedom.
2:12.9	He left in 59. He fled.
2:15.4	We should talk about the circumstances of his departure, because it's a
2:18.4	remarkable story. He was, what, 16 years old at the time? No, he's 26. Oh, 26 at the time.
2:23.4	Yeah, but still, it looked as though the Chinese army was going to capture him. That was the
2:29.8	imminent crisis. Kimmer's Chinese soldiers had been taking over Tibet area by area, killing monks and killing
	...

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