#116 Gyalwa Gendun Gyatso, The Second Dalai Lama, on Exchanging Oneself for Others

Hotchkiss students posing in front of the Potala Palace, the historical residence of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa in June 2016. Photo by Mr. Hall.

Review Canvas and Discovering History

Check for Understanding/Kahoot!

Context: Tibetan Buddhism

• What do we already know about Tibetan Buddhism?
  
• Buddhism arrived in Tibet fairly late (between the seventh and ninth centuries) from central China, Nepal, and India. Fits within Mahāyāna tradition.
  
• Tibetan Buddhism has been more highly influential than the small population atop the Tibetan plateau would suggest: popular among the Mongol Khans, the Qing emperors, and has a global following today.
  
• More than just a religion: also a storehouse of knowledge related to everything from ethics to epistemology to law to medicine. 
  
• The Dalai Lama is believed to be reincarnated over time; leader of the preeminent Geluk sect, and has traditionally played a key political role as well.
  

Discussion:

• What are the main concerns of the author?
  
• How might we draw a connection between yesterday’s reading and today’s? (Find the passage in the text!)
  
• Do you find his analogy compelling? What might Confucius think?