Dalai Lama Says He'll Give Up Political Role

[Aloka]

This is a news item today. Personally I think that this is a sensible decision because I don't think that a head of government should also be a religious leader. However looking further down the article it says:



Samdhong Rinpoche, the current exile prime minister, later indicated that the political transition may not happen soon.

"Despite His Holiness' request, the people and the government do not feel competent to lead ourselves," he told reporters, calling the transition "a long and difficult process."




Dalai Lama Says He'll Give Up Political Role

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/10/dalai-lama-says-hell-political-role/?test=latestnews

[Esho]

That is a good news. Seems that the Dalai Lama was deluded by his political idealism since a long time ago. Personally the figure of the Dalai Lama never inspired me but I think he took the right decision.

[Dharma Dave]

Sounds like a good move to me. The feudal theocrasy of the past has held the Tibetan people back to the point of stagnation. I think this decision will help the people of Tibet and their culture. Good for you 14th DL in relinquishing power and breaking the theocratic bonds!

[Cloud]

Sounds good to me too. I think without the weight of being the political leader of Tibet, he can concentrate more on being the spiritual leader. He won't be stuck trying to balance the two, sometimes having "wavering" views because he has to please both aspects. I think that's why he wants to do it too, not to mention he probably doesn't feel like being attached to political leadership; probably wants to pursue being the voice of peace for any peoples that will listen to him, concentrate on trying to help the people of the world as a Bodhisattva more (with more time).

[fletcher]

I agree it would be a good move to for the Dalai Lama to give up politics, can you imagine the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Pope standing for election?

[Balgore]

Interesting decisions to make now... He is getting pretty old, he perhaps could have done a lot more with this had he done it earlier, but I suppose its better late than never.

[Esho]

He is getting pretty old,

Yes. Getting old has a lot to do with his decision... as happens when we approach that part of our lives. To reflect about getting sick, getting old, and the fact of dieing... is an important aspect of our practice.

[JSmusiqalthinka]

I definitely agree that having a religious leader as a political leader is a bad idea...especially since I heard about the "not-so-compassionate" ways he and the Lamas ruled Tibet before China seized it. As a matter of fact, this reminds me of a George Carlin quote about the separation of church and state.

"I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."

[Esho]

I definitely agree that having a religious leader as a political leader is a bad idea...especially since I heard about the "not-so-compassionate" ways he and the Lamas ruled Tibet before China seized it. As a matter of fact, this reminds me of a George Carlin quote about the separation of church and state.

"I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."

I completely agree.

But I think the case of Tibet and the Dalai Lama is a little bit different. I don't know and I can be wrong but I think that Tibetans are OK living their religion the way they have been since a long time ago. They do not see the division of the state as a ruler and religion as "something" there just to be had for personal purposes. The Tibetan religion that has the influence of the Buddha Noble teachings gives their people a kind of live where Nobleness is deeply integrated in the way they live publicly and privately.

The problem I found, IMPO, with the figure of the Dalai Lama was his desperate public political campaign and some of the notions he holds as thinking humans as inherently good people when we all know that this notion is not completely accurate because people are people and we lack of any kind of inherent nature being it good or bad. The kind of politics that he put in practice were far from a religious leader and it was needed a hug amount of skills that are far from the Noble precepts of Buddhism. I think that his advanced age and the fatigue are the main reasons of his decision. I have ever thought that he himself was into a kind of delusion about the nobility and naivete of the Chinese and western style politics. His delusional veil become too evident as he got older and his strength got weaker.