Cody’s blog

The first thing I did when morning session ended was go find some food! My line companion had taken off about a half hour before the end of the morning session—she had a cough and wasn’t feeling very well. So I was on my own for the rest of the time.I was happy to see a number of vegan options at the convention center cafeteria. I guess with a gathering of Buddhists, they would make sure to have plenty of vegetarian options available! I ended up having deep-fried tofu with stir-fried vegetables and white rice, some watermelon, and a bottle of water. It really hit the spot!

After lunch, I got in one of the long lines to the women’s restrooms, where I struck up a conversation with a few others, including a Vietnamese woman who’d flown down from San Francisco with some friends. She had a book of some of the Dalai Lama’s lectures, written in Vietnamese and English, which she said was available free at a stand near the entrance to the arena, so after I made it through the line, I went and picked up a copy, leaving a five dollar donation. I haven’t read much of it yet, but it’s quite similar to the things he was speaking about that day, so it’s a good reference to remember and learn more.

And then, once I had a book and a shirt to carry around, I decided I needed a bag to put them in, so I found a yellow cloth bag like the ones the monks carry and bought it. There were so many beautiful things on sale there, I could have spent a fortune, but I decided I didn’t need any more stuff, and my mala and shirt and bag and book were enough.

I headed back to my seat about an hour before the 2 pm session was scheduled to start, and read my book while I waited for the Dalai Lama to return.

When the Dalai Lama came back, he continued talking about the Four Noble Truths. The first truth is the truth of suffering. The Buddha talks about three types of suffering: First is “the suffering of suffering,” which is what we ordinarily think of as suffering: the pain of birth, sickness, aging, death. Even animals feel these kinds of suffering, so there’s no reason to go into it in detail. As long as we are subject to the process of rebirth, we all live within the cycle of birth and death and are subject to these kinds of suffering.

Second, there is the suffering of change. These are experiences we would ordinarily think of as pleasurable, but they cannot last, and, for unenlightened beings, they will inevitably bring pain. When you gain fame or wealth or buy nice things, at first they will bring you pleasure, but after a while the pleasure fades and you will start to feel frustrated or dissatisfied and want more. The nature of things is to change. Everything that seems beautiful and good will bring suffering in the end.

Finally, there is the suffering of conditioning. An unenlightened being exists in a state of suffering, or samsara, due to ignorance. As long as we remain unaware of the true nature of things, we cannot escape the continued arising of new troubles and pains. This state of existence is the basis for painful experiences in this life, as well as the causes and conditions of suffering in the future.

He also talked about karma, which is basically the causes and effects he described when talking about Dependent Origination, except that karma only applies to the actions and thoughts that are intentional. Karma is simply the conditions that arise due to one’s intentions and actions. Positive or virtuous actions are those that lead to joy and happiness, while negative actions result in pain and suffering.

Then we took the Bodhicitta Intention. Those of us who intended to take it were asked to kneel, if we could where we were sitting. In the balcony, the seats could be put up, so pushed mine up and knelt in the floor. It was a bit awkward, but doable. There were some other instructions about visualizing doing prostrations, making an offering, and so forth, and then we repeated the Bodhicitta Prayer three times. Thankfully, it was given in English by the translator, so I knew what I was saying!

After that was the Amitabha Buddha Permission Initiation. To be honest, I’m not sure what that was all about. We were asked to visualize the Amitahba Buddha at the crown of our head, and the Dalai Lama chanted in Tibetan, while holding a vajra and ringing a bell. (Here’s an Explanation of the Amitabha Initiation I found. Yay for the Internet!)

And that was it for Friday. I had hoped to find time to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific while I was in Long Beach, but the only real spot for it would have been after the Friday sessions ended. I thought about it, but was too tired and hungry to do anything at that point except head back to the hotel, rest a bit, then have dinner in the hotel restaurant (wearing my new long-sleeved shirt so I didn’t freeze, yay!). I read a bit and went to bed early, hoping to get a good night’s sleep for Saturday’s morning session and the drive back home.

To be continued