Cody’s blog

The first session was scheduled to begin at 9:30 Friday morning. but it was recommended that we arrive at the Convention Center two to three hours early  in order to have time to go through security. My hotel was right across the street from the Convention Center, so at least I didn’t have far to go!

I set my alarm for 7 am, thinking I’d try to get out the door by 7:30 am. But I slept badly again and was awake early, so I dragged myself out of bed at 6:30 am and set about getting ready. I was so tired my head hurt, my stomach was queasy, and I felt absolutely miserable. I considered skipping the morning session, but I knew I’d be sorry if I came all that way and didn’t even make the effort to go. I told myself that I could always leave early, but I had to at least give it a chance. So I drank my cocoa and took a shower and firmly kicked myself out the door .

Once I got out of the hotel, I was fine. The morning was sunny and pleasant, and I joined the crowds of people heading towards the Convention Center entrance. At the end of a long line, I met another woman who was attending alone, and we had a nice time chatting while we meandered around the parking lot and up to the door. We had to go through metal detectors and have our bags searched before going in. We weren’t allowed to take in cameras, cell phones, outside food or drink, anything resembling a weapon, signs or banners—a whole list of stuff.

The tickets were not reserved seating, but were divided into four sections. My line companion and I had tickets for the balcony section, so we went up and found seats together.

There was still over an hour to go before the teaching was scheduled to begin, so I went to check out the dealers. I had no idea there were going to be so many interesting things for sale! There were quite a few dealers selling art, jewelry, clothing, books, and other items, mostly Buddhist-related but some not. I bought myself a new mala (prayer beads, like a Buddhist rosary) made of Bodhi seeds with a few turquoise and red beads. I have already enjoyed chanting 108 “Kwan Seum Bosal” several times with it.

I also bought a long-sleeved shirt made in India, decorated with embroidery and sequins. Something to wear to dinner that night so I wouldn’t freeze! I had to ask the woman behind the counter and several other shoppers to help me choose a color, since there were no mirrors. The first shirt I picked, in a mustard-gold color, was a unanimous “No! You need another color!” Heh. The dark green one I picked next was a hit.

Then I went back to my seat, and presently the Dalai Lama arrived. My line companion said she’d heard that 12,000 people were expected to attend, and the Long Beach Arena was nearly full. The stage was set up with four tapestries hanging in back. Two large ones depicted the Amitabha Buddha and the Medicine Buddha. In the center of the stage was a large throne-like chair with red and gold designs, on which the Dalai Lama sat cross-legged. In front of the Dalai Lama, monks sat on cushions, facing towards the center of the stage.

The Dalai Lama began by asking three of the monks to chant the Heart Sutra, first in Sanskrit, then Chinese, then Vietnamese. The Dalai Lama himself chanted it in Tibetan. I only know it in Korean, but it was interesting to hear it in the other languages. Then the Dalai Lama spoke for a while in English, talking about his belief that all religions are valuable and have the same ultimate goal, which is to lead people to have compassion and loving kindness, and to be happy. He said that no one religion is right for everyone, so it’s good that there are many different religions for people to choose from. He believes that all religions should strive to exist together in harmony.

He thinks that people should stay in the traditional religion of their culture, as long as it helps them. He said that he’d talked to many practitioners of other religions and found them to be sincere and dedicated to their beliefs.

Then he explained a bit about Buddhism, saying that it’s different from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other religions that believe in a Creator God, being a non-theistic religion that believes in emptiness: that there is no concrete, unchanging reality at the heart of things. He also talked about what he thought people could gain by learning about Buddhism. A Buddhist, of course, wants to learn the teachings of the Buddha. A religious person who isn’t Buddhist can gain an understanding of other religions, and learn how Buddhist teachings can provide insight to complement their own religion’s teachings. A non-religious person can appreciate the parts of Buddhist teaching that are based on intellectual thought and reasoning and have no specific religious connotation.

Then he switched to talking in his own language, Tibetan, to talk about Buddhist concepts. An English translator spoke after he did. Translations in Chinese and Vietnamese were also available via FM receivers. (This part of the talk was a bit dry and I had some trouble paying attention, especially since I was still so sleepy. My mind would wander while the Dalai Lama talked, then all of a sudden I’d realize the translator had taken over and I’d missed half of what he said! I should have taken notes.)

He talked about the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the path leading to cessation. The Four Noble Truths are based on the principle of Dependent Origination, which states that all things arise due to the causes and conditions that create them. Nothing exists as an independent object; everything comes about as the result of causes and effects. Therefore, suffering only exists due to conditions that arise to cause it, and so it is possible to remove the causes and conditions of suffering. He said that if suffering were inevitable and unchangeable, there would be no point in dwelling on its existence! The whole point of talking about suffering is that it is possible to remove its causes and eliminate it.

The morning session lasted two hours. The afternoon session was for the Amitabha Buddha Permission Initiation. The Dalai Lama said that the Amitabha Initiation would only take a few minutes, so he would first continue talking about the Four Noble Truths, and he would also offer the Bodhicitta Intention to Buddhists who wished to take it.

Before we broke for lunch, it was announced that if we intended to take the Bodhicitta Intention, we should eat strictly vegetarian that day. Which caused me a bit of concern, because I’d already drunk cocoa for breakfast, which has milk in it. By “strict vegetarian,” did he mean no animals, or no animal products at all? Would milk be okay? What about the fact that I’d drunk it before I knew about the vow? I decided finally that I would eat vegan for lunch, and take the vow.

To be continued.