Identify two of the reputations of the Dalai Lama revealed in this newspaper extract and discuss them in relation to Book 1, Chapter 7? The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader who has left his homeland, Tibet and has established the Buddhist Temple in Thermals, India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The newspaper extract revealed the two contrasting reputations of the Dalai Lama after emerging as the prophet of Buddhism in this secular age.
The two reputations of the Dalai Lama that has been identified from the newspaper articles are his religious and political reputations which have been viewed with efferent perceptions by the people of Tibet and other parts of the world. The comparison between these two reputations has been discussed below with reference to the Chapter 7 of Book 1 . The concept of religious belief that have been introduced in the book explains the fact that for better understanding of religion by the people, it requires them to accept the views and perceptions of world that they are not habituated with or the ones that they do not share.
In a secular age, this has been made possible by The Dalai Lama who has been able o spread the belief of Buddhism and the path of enlightenment universally among people of various religions across the world (Strobe, 2006, p. 48). The reputation of The Dalai Lama in his religious role has not been limited to the people of Tibet but also has spread universally among people of various other countries like Korea, Europe, Japan and America. The reputation of the Dalai Lama as a religious figure is such that his public teachings are followed by millions of people to attain the path of enlightenment.
There is a sea of followers f the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader that has over-flown from the real world to the virtual world whose evidence could be found in Twitter. Lama’s followers include celebrities like Richard Greer and his religious reputation has enabled him to seek donation fruitful donations for the preservation of Buddhist texts dated back to fourteenth century. As found in the newspaper articles and in relation to the book, a sharp contrast has been observed in the reputation of The Dalai Lama in the political context.
Thousands of Tibetan who have undergone oppression of the Chinese rule in Tibet demands the return of the exiled leader in The Dalai Lama. The discontent among the Tibetan refugees due to the Chinese rule has led the political platform where Dalai Lama is viewed as the healing power by the people of Tibet (Lama and Cutler, 1999, p. 68). The Tibetan people and their families who sacrificed their lives because of the Chinese rule view The Dalai Lama, with the golden Buddha in his background, as the living God and the savior of their homeland.
The political reputation of The Dalai Lama n this case is centered only on the conditions of Tibet and not in world politics which has a sharp contrast to his religious reputation where his public teachings have been universally followed. The political reputation, however, provides an indication to the widespread acceptance of his religious teachings that has made him the flag bearer of peace and humanity.
