The Dalai Lama Controversy
The recent smear campaign and the truth from two Tibetans
The biggest influence in my life is His Holiness The XIV Dalai Lama. I first saw him at a teaching in Washington, DC, in 1998. I walked into the venue angry and closed off. I left transformed.
I had such a spiritual experience in a few short hours that I went back to New York City, where I was living, and dove into Tibetan Buddhism. I’ve been practicing and trying to live the way of life ever since.
I’ve had the opportunity to attend dozens of teachings by His Holiness and have been beyond fortunate to meet Him on several occasions.
So it was extremely painful and a bit infuriating to read and watch the media reports circulating about his interaction with a young boy in Dharamshala, India, this past February. The circulated clip is edited and does not portray what happened.
I’m not going to link to the edited video because I won’t be part of the smear campaign against one of the most loving and peace-promoting beings on the planet. Briefly, the video shows His Holiness sticking his tongue out to this boy while giggling and saying he wanted him to suck it. The two touched foreheads.
I have to admit, I was a bit grossed out watching the edited video, but I also knew it was most…
