Hawk and a Dove
Posted on Oct 18th, 2007
by
Sky High
Some people might cringe looking at this picture. The Dalai Lama with George Bush? Is a hawk and a dove compatible? This image brings to mind one of my earlier blogs where I matched up Gandhi and Bush in a parallel universe where Bush has a scrooged-like Christmas Carol transformation leading him to forever condemn preemptive war.
To the mindset of a Hugo Chavez, who called Bush "the Devil," in front of the U.N. General Assembly, guilt by association would cast anyone cozying up to the president as another supporter of the "current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world." In this black and white universe of good and evil, which George Bush happens to also inhabit, imagine a scenario where the Dalai Lama received an award from Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden before September 11th, 2001 and the war on terror. Would the Dalai Lama be welcomed with such open arms in the Bush administration if he were associated with "evil doers"? It is interesting how to some Chinese, Bush awarding the Dalai Lama is on par with awarding an al Qaeda operative hell bent on splitting the motherland.
It just goes to show you that one man's good is another man's evil, which is why Gandhi and the Dalai Lama's philosophy of nonviolence and compassion for even enemies, may hold the key to ending duality and warfare. But it could also be argued that nonviolence and compassion may also be complacent or responsible for the continuation of evil. It is documented that the Dalai Lama had associations with Shoko Asahara before he orchestrated the deadly gas attacks in Tokyo's subways. It is unknown however, whether the Dalai Lama knew enough about Asahara to see warning signs. Perhaps he knew of Asahara's great capacity for evil but chose to nurture his capacity for good in the hopes he would choose right over wrong. The same might be said of his meeting with Bush. The Dalai Lama most likely knows of all the accusations around the world that 9-11 was inside job by the Bush administration. We've all heard of those who believe Bush is evil but what about his good side? The Dalai Lama was most likely aware that some strong condemnation of the Myanmar government for the beating and killing of Buddhist monks in Rangoon came from Bush's pulpit before U.S. sanctions on the country were put in effect.
Clearly the warfare between polar opposites will continue going on long after the Dalai Lama has left this world. Even now, there maybe some new al Qaeda recruits from Baghdad who are scheming a way to drop off a suitcase nuke in Washington D.C. They may be driven by the same thirst for vengeance that lead U.S. forces to punish Saddam Hussein for invading Kuwait, murdering Kurds and executing thousands of Iraqi political prisoners over the course of his reign. Perhaps these new al Qaeda operatives from Baghdad, had parents, brothers and sisters whose bodies were brutally blown to pieces by U.S. bombs during the invasion. Like Chavez, these people may hold Bush in their mind as a Devil. And if the Dalai Lama were ever an obstacle in their path of avenging their loved one's lives, he would most likely be taken out regardless of the compassion he holds for suffering beings like them.
In fact, the entire city of Washington D.C. would also pay the price for harboring their number one enemy just as the entire nation of Iraq paid the price for harboring one of the number one enemies of America and Israel. And with the never ending warfare of duality raging on, it just never stops in the mindsets of people where the world is arranged around the eternal warfare of good and evil, God and Satan. Following Washington's destruction, there would most likely be a massive backlash where America launches a nuclear strike on enemies in the middle east. This new world war wouldn't stop until one of the opposing sides had been utterly smashed into oblivion.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
So, this is why a Gandhi, M.L. King Jr. or Dalai Lama is capable of bridging two sides of a duality. Their philosophy of nonviolence would force them to show compassion for factions of people considered enemies to opposing factions. This however doesn't mean they wouldn't speak out against injustices. Who knows what the Dalai Lama told president Bush when nobody was listening. Perhaps he looked him squarely in the eye and firmly said, "You must peacefully end this tragic occupation in Iraq before it creates any more suffering in the world." Would Bush laugh at or ignore such a request from someone who abandoned the realm of material and military might for the more idealistic realm of spiritual power? Only time will tell.

Help




Sky, I have been refelecting on this event last couple of days. Buddhists, especially in mahayana believe in the innate potential to awaken to one's true nature - Buddha nature anytime. Extending compassion to those who are imprisoned by their mental concepts and do enormous harm is surely not an easy task to do consistently. So Dalai lama's example of unconditional compassion and warmth to all is something I deeply admire and cherish.
It is not easy to be someone of the public stature and conviction of Gandhi or ML King as one has to make difficult moral choices in many situations. Gandhi had many spiritualom a position of struggle in his life over the question of how far to carry non-violence. He always advocated non-violence as a soul-force of truth and strength,
than a sign of passivity, cowardice or fear.
Buddha himself advocated love, compassion, joy, equanimity in cases that uplifts, awakens and gives strength in his practice of Brahmavihara.
I wonder though what would the impact have been if Dalai Lama declined the US congressional medal, like the Universal Poet, humanitarian and first nobel laureate of India, RabindranathTagore did after amritsar massacre.
Here's a list of other people declining British honor. Just a thought! No judgement. I am actually greatly looking forward to see his holiness in Bloomington, Indiana.
Peace
Mita
Balanced piece of writing, Sky.
That is really what compassion is all about. Evil and compassion can have a human face; but if we combat with the human faces, we perpetuate it.
Look how nations begin to do what their enemies do, when they are combating them! It would be hard to make out who's a terrorist in the dark. As you pointed out, one nation's freedom fighter is another nation's terrorist. To be crystal clear in this situation is not easy; yet it's a blessing what shines through people like the ones you've mentioned: Gandhiji, Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King and others.
The CIA arranged for the trip into exile and gave him a pile of cash every year until relations with China were normalized. Americans recruited members of the Dalai Lama’s guard to be trained as guerrillas in Colorado. This goes all the way back to the 1950’s. “His Holiness” is a gentler breed of Elmer-Gantryish baby-kissers hobnobbing with world leaders. Free yourself of “mental bondage” and just face it.
- EBJ,
Zaadz Daemon
Hey Zaadz Daemon! Even you quote MLK jr. If the idealistic realm of love and peace is much more favorable than war, why not just keep going the way of the dreamers? :-)