Buddhism

A belief in the power of dialogue must be at the center of our understanding of social change. As Hildegard Goss-Mayr said, "Interaction with the Other is .... not a menace but an enrichment. When we reach this state, we will be able to recognize the revelation of Hod in the other and to accept the gift of their truth."

Last week, this was in evidence in an unusual setting -- a meeting betwee the Dalai Lama and a group of Chinese leaders in New York City. As this article by my friend Matt Weiner of the Interfaith Center of New York reports, while many Chinese have resisted efforts by Tibetans for self-determination, some now are open to hearing out the spiritual leader -- or at least to engaging in conversation about their differences.

The nexus of the coming summer Olympic Games and the weather catastrophes of recent months in China and Burma have opened a new window of curiosity and interest to the issues of Buddhism, Democracy, Globalization, Compassion and Spiritual leadership. Few are bettered positioned to provide insights than Iyer who met the Dalai Lama through visits with his father when a child and whose curiosity about the “East” has sustained him as a writer for decades, include frequent circlings through the presence of the Dalai Lama and Dharmasala.