What the Dalai Lama Teaches Us About Resilience
Your radiant spark is there to make your life a work of art.
It was an unusually warm, sunny day as my friend David and I left San Francisco early to get across the Bay Bridge. We were on our way to see His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. He would be speaking at the University of California, Berkeley. Anticipating a huge crowd, we wanted to be sure we could get good seats at the enormous Greek Theatre on campus.
After negotiating the ever-heavy traffic on the Bay Bridge, we followed the lines of cars into the parking lot at the university. We scrambled across campus ahead of the crowd and found great seats in the center of the amphitheater some 15 rows up.
The crystal clear blue sky, gentle breeze, and April warmth made it a perfect day for the Dalai Lama’s speech and for being outside. David had thought ahead to bring stadium cushions for us to sit on, especially since we had a 40-minute wait until the Dalai Lama took the stage. Even on a nice day, the semicircle cement seating was chilly.
As the rows of seats filled, the air became electrified with high-voltage excitement and anticipation. Finally, the attending dignitaries began to take their places on the stage. A petite, dark-haired woman stepped to the microphone …
A hush fell on the crowd as she began her introduction of the spiritual icon we had all come to see.
Maximizing the Light
When she said, “And, now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome His Holiness, the Dalai Lama,” everyone spontaneously jumped up and began cheering as he came into view in his crimson and orange robes. I’m sure the thunderous applause and shouts could be heard all the way across the Bay to San Francisco.
An aide escorted him up the three steps to the stage and over to the microphone. Everyone stood in honor as he slowly made his way.
As the crowd took its seats, a huge smile spread across the Dalai Lama’s face and he began to speak in Chinese, his first language. He went on for a few minutes.
David and I looked at each other puzzled. Suddenly, he burst into laughter. With a big grin, he spoke out in clear English, “Surprised you!” We all cheered. Then he spent the next hour talking in English about the importance of love, forgiveness, compassion, and doing our part to create peace and a world that works for everyone.
Here is a man who evidently has found and maximized the light in him to such an extent that others can come to believe in the light in themselves.
He speaks simply of the complex work of developing our own spiritual power.
He spoke of the arduous work of transcending our human fears and resentments …
[He spoke] of the urgency in these times to make of our lives a work of art that helps create peace among all people, even in the face of differences in religion, politics, culture, color, and orientation.
Living with a Focus on Solutions
It occurred to me that this is going to require what the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous calls a complete psychic change. It is no easy task to maintain peace of mind and heart. His Holiness admitted that he has had his moments!
However, he has managed to make of himself a light, and if one person can do it, we all can. His radiance of being has inspired so many others to let go of the notions that separate us in order to make personal and global peace possible.
He lives the idea of keeping a focus on solutions rather than problems.
The radiance that shines in the Dalai Lama is a seed in each of us. It yearns for our attention to develop it. It thrives on our faith in it. The divine spark is bigger than all our doubts, worries, and fears. It ignites our thinking with inspiring thoughts and spiritually nourishing ideas.
It is true that life tests us over and over. It asks, Will you surrender your power or ignite the light in you?
I remember evangelist Robert Schuller saying, “If you’ve got a problem, good. God will provide a way around it, over it, or through it.”
As you focus on igniting the light of God within you, expressing as the 12 powers, you will keep your divine battery well-charged while empowering yourself to be a solution finder. It is a spiritual fitness program that clears the way for your resilience to grow into radiance.
A Prayer for Resilience
Most amazing Spirit, I now immerse myself in your light within me.
With every breath, I breathe your light into every part of me. You light my mind with right choices. Mighty currents of your presence in me minister to me in every needed and desired way.
In the quiet, I listen for your still, small voice guiding my thoughts and my steps.
I affirm I am open and receptive to knowing and living from the divine power in me.
A Practice in Radiant Resilience
Each morning—and from time to time during the day—envision a radiant light in your heart. As you focus on this vision in your mind’s eye, see it brighten, expand, and radiate like the sun throughout your whole body. Notice your energy in doing this.
Excerpted from Adventures in Resilience (Unity Books, 2020).