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October 11, 2006
Dalai Lama to visit Pope
Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will meet with the Dalai Lama in a private audience on October 13.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will be in Rome to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Rome. At this meeting with the Holy Father he will be accompanied by several aides. Cardinal Paul Poupard, the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, will also participate in the meeting.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
One thing I don't understand....
all those ex-Catholic Tibetan Buddhists in California can learn Tibetan,
but Latin is impossible for modern humans?
Maybe the Pope can get the Dalai Lama to start encouraging Catholics to learn Latin.
WHY LEARN TIBETAN?... Because many practitioners have reached enlightenment through these words over hundreds of years, they are imbued with great blessings.
It is also useful to know some Tibetan because it will be years or even generations before standard, comprehensive translations into English have been developed, and many important texts have not yet been translated at all.
To make it easier for us to chant in Tibetan...
Study of the Tibetan language is of great benefit in deepening one's understanding of the practice and view of Vajrayana Buddhism. It isn't necessary to become fluent in Tibetan, but it is very helpful even to know a few important words.
Posted by: Old Zhou at Oct 11, 2006 2:06:14 PM
Is there a successor to the DL in the wings?
Also, it seems like the DL gets an awful lot of press and photo ops. Is he really that important? It just seems so 90s. For some reason, when I think of the DL, I think of Lallapalooza.
Posted by: Boko Fittleworth at Oct 11, 2006 2:24:05 PM
Boko, they can't identify his re-incarnation until after he dies and his re-incarnation is born. Here is the list.
Posted by: Old Zhou at Oct 11, 2006 2:28:48 PM
I like your revision of the headline, Amy.
Posted by: Pes at Oct 11, 2006 2:32:59 PM
Woops. I mean the "lead." And I see the headline was as Amy had it. *sigh*
Never mind.
Posted by: Pes at Oct 11, 2006 2:34:12 PM
Those same ex-Catholics who left the Church's "antiquated" Latin culture and who are now studying Tibetan also often dress is religious robes, perform devotions like prostrations and repetitions of memorized prayers on rosaries, and, in general, do most everything that they refused to sanction in Catholic devotional practice because it was "medieval."
Posted by: Little Gidding at Oct 11, 2006 3:49:43 PM
Is there a successor to the DL in the wings?
It's Bobby Hill.
Posted by: Bender at Oct 11, 2006 3:58:11 PM
A successor?
Richard Gere in his 5th Reincarnation.
Posted by: Dan Crawford at Oct 11, 2006 5:52:19 PM
Just so B16 doesn't treat the DL as an (gasp!) equal.
Humoring the wannabes is OK, but otherwise .........
Posted by: Jimmy Mac at Oct 11, 2006 6:01:46 PM
He is the Holy Father's equal in that they are both heads of states.
On a religious level, there's absolutely no comparison.
Posted by: Tim Ferguson at Oct 11, 2006 8:45:17 PM
As far as I know, neither the Vatican nor any other country recognizes Tibet as a sovereign state. For what it's worth, diplomatic protocol would have to reflect that.
Posted by: Little Gidding at Oct 11, 2006 8:50:57 PM
And if Tibet WERE recognized as a sovereign state, would the DL be its head?
Posted by: Boko at Oct 12, 2006 9:20:35 AM
Is there some vast exodus of Catholics to Buddhism?
Posted by: John Sheridan at Oct 12, 2006 9:38:11 AM
Boko--yes, undoubtedly he would be recognized as the head, but the recognition of Tibet as a sovereign state is simply not going to happen under any probable scenario that I can think of.
John S--I wouldn't say a "vast exodus," but I would say that there are not-just-a-few ex-Catholics who are interested in or practicing either Zen or some form of Tibetan Buddhism.
Posted by: Little Gidding at Oct 12, 2006 9:55:53 AM
The two people in the world whom other people address as "Your Holiness" must surely have a lot in common.
Posted by: Adam at Oct 12, 2006 10:13:10 AM
"The two people in the world whom other people address as "Your Holiness" must surely have a lot in common."
Perhaps copies of Thomas Merton's books? (I write while looking at the "recent books from my library" on the top left here on Amy's blog).
Posted by: Little Gidding at Oct 12, 2006 11:59:15 AM
Actually, there are at least three of us regularly addressed as "Your Holiness." I flew British Airways a few times and they asked me to sign up for e-mail promos. The form one fills out has a fascinating list of titles to choose from. Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Dr., of course, and lots of titles for royalty and the titled (HRH, Prince, Your Ladyship, Dutchess, &c...) and then the middle-eastern titles, and the Indian, and far-eastern, and religious titles also (Fr., Br., Sr., Archimandrite, and, yes, His Holiness (was there a "Her Holiness"?-I don't recall, perhaps it was just "Your Holiness".)
So, B16, the DL, and Boko all (I assume) get regular e-mails from BA (a mojor company, not just some little ad in the back of Rolling Stone magazine) addressing us as "Your Holiness".
I look forward to comments with the phrase "as His Holiness Mr. Fittleworth points out..." in them throughout the blogosphere.
Posted by: Boko Fittleworth at Oct 12, 2006 12:13:01 PM
Actually, there is a third person addressed "Your Holiness": Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (1971-present). The Vatican likewise accords him that honorific in correspondence, IIRC.
Posted by: Liam at Oct 12, 2006 1:19:13 PM
