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04 April, 2008

"Ups and downs are not good" - A day in the life of the Dalai Lama

From an article called "Hard times for the Dalai Lama" on theweekdaily.com web site:




A day in his life.

The Dalai Lama spends several months a year traveling the world, meeting with national leaders and addressing huge crowds. But when not globe-trotting, he lives modestly in Dharamsala, India, in the snow-capped foothills of the Himalayas.

His operational base is the airy, three-story Namgyal Temple, but his actual living quarters are in a sparsely furnished white stucco house located nearby along a bamboo-lined path. Rising most mornings at 3:30, he prays and then rides an exercise bike. At 5 a.m., he breakfasts on tsampa (barley porridge) and listens to the BBC. The rest of his day is spent meditating, receiving visitors, tending his garden, tinkering with appliances, and feeding birds.

He also likes to read, especially encyclopedias, picture books about World War II, and anything about neuroplasticity, or how the brain rewires itself. (Studies have shown that frequent meditation actually transforms the physical brain.) He’s usually asleep by 8:30 p.m. His primary aim, he explains, is to maintain emotional equilibrium. “Ups and downs,” he says, “are not good.”

• Read the entire article on theweekdaily.com web site.
• Photo of Dalai Lama Flickred from dumbeast, used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.

1 comment:

NoVA Dad said...

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your efforts in keeping this blog active. I am in the midst of a great learning period about the Dalai Lama, the history of Tibet and the problems which exist between that nation (and that people) and the government of China, and basic Buddhism. I found this while doing a blog search for others who are interested in the Dalai Lama; it's always quite interesting, and I have you as a regular link on my blog.

Many thanks again, and keep up the good work!