Dalai Lama Offers Practical Advice to L.A.-Area Followers

In his first appearance of a 17-day visit, the Dalai Lama--the exiled spiritual-political leader revered by Tibetans as a living Buddha--offered some practical advice Wednesday to Los Angeles-area Buddhists trying to practice their religion in a predominantly Christian culture.

Using a translator only occasionally, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, spoke extemporaneously for more than an hour to about 100 Buddhist monks and nuns of various national origins, including Caucasian converts.

Tells of Adjustments

The Tibetan leader emphasized the cultural adjustments that have taken place throughout the 2,500-year history of Buddhism. Standing before a gold-plated statue of Buddhism’s founder, Gautama Buddha, he advised openness to change:

“You can’t say, ‘I am a Buddhist monk whether you like it or not; I have to do it this way,’ ” he said. “We have to make distinctions between culture and (basic) Buddhist tradition.”

The Dalai Lama was responding to a request for advice on a litany of problems confronted by an estimated 300,000 Buddhists in Southern California, most them immigrants, as enumerated by the Venerable Havanpola Ratanasara, president of the 9-year-old Buddhist Sangha (community) Council.

Upon entering the main hall of the Kwan Um Sa Korean Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the Dalai Lama bowed frequently to audience members with his hands pressed together. He likewise acknowledged the presence of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and other interfaith leaders.

To his 6 million followers in Tibet and about 100,000 emigrant Tibetans, the Dalai Lama is addressed as “His Holiness” and is the manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion with theocratic authority. To other Buddhists, he carries no such religious power.

Yet, like the Pope, who reigns supreme only in Catholicism but often earns broad respect from other Christians, the 14th Dalai Lama has been widely admired in Buddhism during his 30 years in exile for the rich tradition of his office, his integrity and, especially, his defense of his countrymen who have been subjected to indignities by a new Chinese majority population in Tibet.

Gives Advice

Asked in Wednesday’s pan-Buddhist “dialogue” how to deal with “ethical and moral breakdown” by some American Buddhist teachers, the Dalai Lama recommended that Buddhist requirements for ordination be stricter and more time-consuming, citing Christian traditions for its priests and sisters.

He also noted, by way of suggestion, that “our Christian brothers and sisters are very active in social work, education and health.

“In Buddhist tradition, something is lacking, isn’t it?” he asked. He said Buddhists should be in the service of humanity. “Whether those people are believers or not doesn’t matter,” he said.

Aides to the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet and Chinese troops in 1959, said he did not want to answer questions about Tibet and China on Wednesday. He is expected to address those topics at a Friday news conference and in a public talk Sunday afternoon at the Shrine Auditorium.

Views Well Known

His political views are well-known, however. In 1987 and 1988, he proposed that Tibet be a demilitarized “zone of peace,” self-governing and democratic, but permiting an association with China under which the Beijing government could retain foreign policy and defense responsibilities. The Dalai Lama, through representatives in Western countries, objected to the martial law imposed on Tibet last March by Chinese forces after demonstrations erupted in the capital of Lhasa.

Similarly, when Chinese students began prolonged protests for democratic reforms in Beijing in May, the Dalai Lama praised the students’ courage. “I urge upon the Chinese leadership to have the courage to accept the reality and comprehend the aspiration of their people,” he said. After the Beijing protest was violently ended with military force, the Dalai Lama said that the subsequent arrests and executions “will never suppress real human determination.”

The principal purpose for the Dalai Lama’s third trip to Los Angeles in 10 years is to conduct the so-called Kalachakra Initiation, advanced teachings and rites July 16-19 for registrants who have paid $150 each. He will return to Southern California in October for a series of interfaith conferences in Orange County.