Our statement on the Dali Lama Drama.
We hope you are well and flourishing in life. There have been some questions regarding our viewpoints in relationship to the recent controversy surrounding the Dali Lama regarding his interactions with a child during a public event, which were captured on video.
Being the only government-accredited school in the world sanctioned to use the Tibetan 5 Element teachings for holistic sexual healing, we felt it pertinent to address this topic.
We, meaning Devi, Dr. Erickson and other members of the team reviewed the video with a few different lenses intact.
#1. We viewed the video with an understanding (albeit limited) of Tibetan culture and considered how that may differ from the colonized puritanical lens of Western culture.
#2. As yogis and yoginis who practice light body yoga on a daily basis, we FELT the video and noticed how the interaction landed in our bodies. We discussed how those reactions and sensations may or may not relate to our own cultural conditioning.
#3. And then we watched, we waited, and we meditated.
In short, we followed the teachings of the Buddha, we engaged in our practice, and waited to see if greater clarity would arise …and it did.
As an anti-racist organization, committed to decolonizing Tantra in the West, we felt it imperative to receive information directly from the people whom this incident affected the most. In this case, the child in question, the mother, and the Tibetan people, teachers, and spiritual leaders.
We will share their words so that you can determine your own truth based upon these voices if you so choose.
- First, we listen to the statements of the boy and his mother:
The statements of the mother and the young man who hugged HH Dalai Lama in an interview made to them immediately after the event (about two months ago):
The boy states: “It was amazing meeting his holiness. I think it’s a really great experience meeting with such high positive energy. It’s a really nice feeling meeting him and you get a lot of that positive energy .It’s not just like that but once you get the positive energy I think you’re happier and it’s a better thing and you smile a lot more. It was a really good experience of all.”
The boy’s mother statements: “I’m Doctor Payal Kanodia trustee MCM Foundation. We’ve been working in Dharamshala on this Skill Center which we started last year and since then we were looking at seeking blessings from his Holiness and you know we got this opportunity and specially when my family was there with me and all the students who graduated from “iMpower Academy for Skills” were also present. We’re totally totally blessed to have got this blessings from his Holiness he came addressed us in person taught about peace that the world needs and how everyone needs to feel together like brother and sister and I absolutely cannot express howI feel getting blessed by him. Thank you.”
2. Next we share the words of Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Lama Trinle Gyamtso –
“When we form an opinion on any issue without considering the context, we are choosing to maintain a significant degree of ignorance in our reasoning, so I will make one final comment about the requested hug of SS Dalai Lama and which has sparked so much controversy in the West. One of the repeated accusations that have been made comes from confusion about the Tibetan expression “nGeCheLé Dyip,” “CheLa Sa”.
In Tibetan culture, it is common for grandparents to give their grandchildren a small treat or food directly from mouth to mouth.
After, when, since they have nothing left in their mouths, they say “CheLa Sa”, “eat my tongue”, as saying “I gave you all my love and the sweets, so the last thing I can offer you is my tongue, because “eat my tongue”. “
It is a loving and innocent custom very common in the Amdo region where the Dalai Lama comes from and children know it well but logically this is perceived in a very different way when it is mistakenly translated into English as “suck my tongue”.
That English translation error (by the Dalai Lama himself) is why His Holiness apologized, “for the pain his words may have caused.”
I understand that all of this may have been uncomfortable and even irritating, seen from a non-contextualized perspective, in a manipulated video, but now all complete and truthful information is available, and sincere people have the opportunity to assume and accept things as they have been and withdraw the gratuitous accusations, defamations and insults that have been poured out against a being that has devoted his entire life to peace and the service of the common good.”
- The words of a Tibetan and Buddhist practitioner –
How and why an innocent interaction between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a young Indian boy has been sensationalized into a clickbait story with leading titles and fake descriptions, and a carefully spliced video. – Understanding Tibetan Customs and Traditions, and the Political History of Tibet.
- We listened to a BBC Interview with Tibetan Cultural Scholar.
Content begins at 45:32 – CLICK HERE
- And last, but most certainly not least, the words of our Lineage Master, Kalu Rinpoche
We invite you to review these perspectives, and then to watch, to wait, and to meditate on what resonates as most true for you.
Peace and Blessings.
The Team at IATE
