Meditation Practices Can Change Your Life – The Dalai Lama

Of all the teachers in the world who teach on how meditation practices can change your life, The Dalai Lama is probably the most famous. His exile from Tibet, dating back to 1959, has made him Tibet’s ambassador to the rest of the world. In this role, The Dalai Lama has been extremely well-received, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

The 14th Dalai Lama -Tenzin Gyatzo

I had the privilege of seeing the Dalai Lama in person in 1988. His presence and demeanor are inspiring. His teachings almost always are given in Tibetan, and it amazes me how his translators can listen to him speak for periods of up to five or ten minutes and then feed back the English version without hesitation. I think he knows English pretty well by now, and he still prefers to give teachings in Tibetan.

Meditation Practices Can Change Your Life – The Dalai Lama

An article by Barbara Chai on Speakeasy referred to an interview she had with the Dalai Lama in his home in Dharamsala, India. She states,

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Among the many topics we discussed in a wide-ranging interview, the Dalai Lama explained why meditation in general is good for humanity, regardless of which technique you practice.

In his latest book, “Beyond Religion,” he gives basic suggestions for the beginner meditation student, such as the option to sit in a Lotus or half Lotus position, and how one can position the eyes, chin and tongue. He also discusses the benefits of practicing analytical meditation in combination with meditation that emphasizes shunyata, or emptiness.

A Buddhist who embraces science and research, the Dalai Lama has long held that there are neurological and medical benefits to meditation. He has held a series of dialogues with the Mind & Life Institute of Colorado to discuss investigations of the mind with scientists and philosophers, and to promote well-being. He also has a longstanding relationship with scientist Richard Davidson, author of the new book, “The Emotional Life of Your Brain.”

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Read more at here. You can read other posts by Barbara Chai relating to the Dalai Lama there also.

The Universe in a Single Atom – The Dalai Lama

I became familiar with the work of the Dalai Lama and Dr. Richie Davidson at the Mind and Life Institute several years ago. I’ve listened to recordings of the discussions and was thrilled to learn how my thoughts about how meditation practices can change your life were in concert with theirs. I rented the CDs of one of the Mind and Life conferences from my local library. I think this ties in quite nicely with my other post on “Meditation Practices Are Linked to Increased Intelligence“.

Of the many books available by the Dalai Lama, I have to say that my favorite is The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality. I have rented the audio recording, read by Richard Gere, a known disciple of the Dalai Lama, many times. This book rekindled my interest in physics, in general, and cosmology in particular and I have been spending a lot of time catching up. I only spent six years in graduate school in physics and came away with two masters degrees.

Wow, this is a lot of information for a single post. Perhaps I should plan to break it up into more than one, but I like the way it came out.

What do you think? Can you say so below and please share your remarks.