GOD KING

In the first lint the reporter tells us that we are here for the Dalai Lama, and he’s described as “Tibet’s Exiled Spiritual Leader”, straight away he emphasizes the importance of this man When I think of the word “exiled”, an authoritative order of that country prevents them from being there. The importance of how Buddhists regard their “spiritual leaders” is not, as in Catholicism, where they are simply elected, but carry a far greater power. Buddhists believe that the people like the Dalai Lama are a reincarnation of the very God they worship ( In the DVD we see how a young child, Tashi Tsering is believed to be the reincarnation of Khensur Rinpoche. We go through other worldly rituals, including a Monk in a trance dancing with swords. The child is then confirmed by the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnate. One of the monks comments that the child's parents were not upset after being told they are to take their son, but seem happy that he is the one.
We are told of the event in the final line of the paragraph that he is there to teach centuries old “Buddhist text about the path of enlightenment. Dalai Lama roughly translates as ‘ocean of wisdom’ (Reputations, Waterhouse, 2004, p.207) and like Tashi Tsering, he has been immersed in Buddhist wisdom since he was a child. To this day he limits the amount of sleep he has, so that everyday he can spend long periods of time engaged in Buddhist practice.

In the second paragraph of the article we are told of the Chinese violently stamping out the traditional buddhist practice by destroying monasteries and even changing the way that the Panchen Lama was chosen, yet still proclaiming that has freedom of religion. We are told of “100 Tibetans who have immolated themselves”, “using their final moments to call for the Dalai Lama’s return”, a banner reads “sacrifice of life for Tibet” they think of him as a saviour, for the country and the religion. Tibet had integrated religion and politics, not only has he the highest religious status, he was also head of state (Reputations, Waterhouse, 2004, p.208) thus why he has the title God King.

WESTERN CELEBRITY

The wests view in this text is similar is that of celebrity. We are told of a “curious” crowd on a “festive mood”, which sounds like the audience of a music festival rather than that of a religious diets. There’s an air of consumerism as books are sold, promising to “free your mind from stress and worry” and with titles such “beyond religion, ethics for a whole world” , which is strange considering that Buddhism has always been a missionary religion (Reputations, Waterhouse, 2004, p.204).
We are then told of how he rose to fame, the actor Richard Gere described as an “acolyte”. The praise from Hollywood had resulted in Buddhism had become a trend, statues of meditating Buddhas popped up in restaurants, it was big business. Soon the Dalai Lama was a poster boy for Apple electronics, the slogan “think differently” perfectly tying in the in vogue Dalai Lama with their stylish new product the Apple Mac (Reputations, Waterhouse, 2004, p.204). The article touches upon how he has embraced technology, he has a twitter account, adding to the approachable nature of the man (1) Westerners greet him with handshakes and smiles’ as if he is an old friend. The pinnacle of this being during a laid back interview, John Cleese goes as far as telling the Dalai Lama what Buddhism is! The Dalai Lama does not seem phased by this and gives, what has became to be, a trademark laugh.