The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)

Che cos'è l'Assoluto? Dio esiste?

Buddhism does not accept a creator, and respects those who do

Nessun Dio creatoreLo dice espressamente

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, states the Buddhist position clearly: the universe has no first creator, and phenomena arise dependent on beginningless causes and conditions. In The Universe in a Single Atom (2005) he relates this thesis to scientific cosmology and explains why Buddhism needs no creating principle. But he refuses to turn the difference into polemic: in Toward a True Kinship of Faiths (2010) and in The Good Heart (1996), his commentary on Gospel passages, he holds that faith in a creator God can sustain compassion, humility and love in the believer, and that this is what matters. He distinguishes between the truth each tradition affirms and the pluralism with which it is wise to live. For one's own liberation, however, no God is needed.

Chi sono io? Esiste un vero sé?

The self exists conventionally, but not in itself

Non c'è un sé permanenteLo dice espressamente

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama presents non-self from the Madhyamaka Prasangika school of Tibetan Buddhism. In How to See Yourself as You Really Are (2006) he invites the reader to search for the self we identify with so strongly when offended or afraid, and to verify that it is found neither in the body, nor in the mind, nor in their combination, nor apart from them. This does not mean there is no one: the self exists conventionally, as a designation dependent on the aggregates, and it is what acts, remembers and answers for its deeds. What does not exist is a self existing by itself, independently and intrinsically. Clinging to that appearance of solidity is, for him, the root of afflictive emotions; understanding its emptiness opens the door to compassion.

Perché soffriamo?

Afflictive emotions, born of clinging to a self, are the root of pain

Brama e attaccamentoLo dice espressamente

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama sets out in The Four Noble Truths (1997) the classical doctrine: suffering originates in karma and afflictive emotions — attachment, aversion and confusion — whose root is the ignorance that conceives self and phenomena as existing by themselves. In The Art of Happiness (1998), written with the psychiatrist Howard Cutler, he translates this teaching into accessible terms: attachment to what is desired and rejection of what displeases generate anxiety, anger and frustration, and the undisciplined mind is the main source of unhappiness. He insists that some suffering is unavoidable — illness, old age, death — but that one's attitude towards it changes its effect. The remedy is to train the mind, cultivate compassion, which reduces self-absorption, and understand the emptiness of the self.

Che cosa accade dopo la morte?

Subtle mind continues from life to life; dying well is prepared by living

Rinascita secondo il karmaLo dice espressamente

The Dalai Lama sets out the Tibetan Buddhist view of death, above all in Advice on Dying and Living a Better Life (2002), where he comments on a classic text on dying. He distinguishes levels of mind: the gross mind, tied to the senses, dissolves at death; the mind of clear light, the subtlest, continues and is the basis of rebirth. He describes the stages of dissolution of the elements, the appearance of the clear light and the intermediate state (bardo) preceding the new life, whose character depends on karma and on one's last state of mind. He therefore advises preparing throughout life, thinking of death every day without morbidity. He regards himself as the fourteenth incarnation of a lineage and, in his 2011 statement, explained how his successor should be recognised, or whether the institution should continue.

Come si raggiunge la liberazione o la salvezza?

A gradual path joining compassion and wisdom about emptiness, examined with reason

Con una pratica disciplinataLo dice espressamente

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama sets out liberation according to the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism: suffering derives from afflictive emotions, and these from the ignorance that conceives things as having inherent existence. In The Four Noble Truths he explains that this ignorance can be removed because it does not rest on reality, and that the antidote is the wisdom realising emptiness. The path is gradual (lamrim) and combines ethical discipline, analytical and concentrative meditation, and the generation of the awakening mind (bodhicitta), the wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all beings. He insists that practice must undergo rational examination and that transforming the mind takes time and sustained effort.

Serve un maestro?

The teacher is valuable, but must be examined carefully before being accepted

Utile ma non indispensabileSi deduce dalla sua dottrina

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama teaches within a tradition in which reliance on the spiritual teacher is the first topic of the gradual path (lamrim) and in which tantra requires initiation. He does not minimise that role. But he constantly insists on two precautions: the disciple must examine the teacher at length before accepting him, checking his knowledge and conduct, and must not follow instructions contrary to the Dharma or to ethics, even if they come from him. He also encourages studying the texts critically, in line with the Nalanda university tradition, and not accepting even the Buddha's words without analysing them. The teacher guides; understanding is each person's responsibility.

Il mondo è reale?

Things exist, but not by themselves: they depend on causes, parts and designation

Una rete di cause senza sostanzaLo dice espressamente

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama explains reality according to the Madhyamaka Prasangika school, as interpreted by the Gelug tradition. Things exist conventionally and function, but lack intrinsic existence: they depend on their causes, their parts and the mental designation that identifies them. That is emptiness, which does not deny the world but a mistaken way of conceiving it. In The Universe in a Single Atom he places this doctrine in dialogue with modern physics and points out convergences with the interdependence of phenomena described by science, without conflating the two. For him, understanding interdependence has ethical consequences: no being or interest exists in isolation.

Che cos'è l'amore?

Wishing all beings to be happy and free from suffering

Compassione senza limitiLo dice espressamente

The Dalai Lama defines love and compassion according to Tibetan Buddhism: love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion the wish that they be free from suffering. He distinguishes genuine compassion from ordinary affection, which depends on the other seeming close or pleasant to us and is mixed with attachment; true compassion is based on recognising that everyone, the enemy included, wishes just as we do to be happy and avoid pain. In The Art of Happiness and in Ethics for the New Millennium he presents compassion as the source of one's own happiness and the foundation of a secular ethic of universal responsibility, valid for believers and non-believers alike. In the Tibetan practice he teaches, it culminates in bodhicitta: the aspiration to awaken for the benefit of all beings.

Siamo liberi o è tutto determinato?

Karma is intentional action: the future depends on what we do now

Karma e sceltaLo dice espressamente

The Dalai Lama presents the Tibetan doctrine of karma by insisting that it is not fatalism. Karma means action, and in particular action motivated by an intention; its fruits depend on causes and conditions and can therefore be changed. In *The Universe in a Single Atom* (2005) he places karma within general causality and relates it to the experience of sentient beings, without claiming it explains every natural phenomenon on its own. In his popular works, such as *How to Practice*, he stresses the practical consequence: since the present state is the fruit of past actions, ethical discipline and the cultivation of the mind are the way to shape what is to come. Personal responsibility and interdependence go together.

Perché meditare o pregare?

Analytical meditation: familiarising the mind with compassion and emptiness

Vedere la realtà così com'èLo dice espressamente

The Dalai Lama explains that the Tibetan word for meditation, *gom*, means familiarisation: to meditate is to habituate the mind to virtuous states and to a correct understanding of reality. He distinguishes two modes, both necessary: calm meditation, which stabilises attention on an object, and analytical meditation, which examines through reasoning impermanence, suffering, compassion and above all emptiness, the absence of intrinsic existence in phenomena. In *How to Practice* and in his commentary on Kamalaśīla's *Stages of Meditation* he presents practice as a progressive training whose fruit is a clearer mind and a more compassionate heart, useful also outside Buddhism.

Può la ragione conoscere l'ultimo?

If science refutes a Buddhist claim, Buddhism must change it

Fede e ragione si aiutanoLo dice espressamente

The Dalai Lama presents himself as heir to the Nālandā tradition, which gives reason a central role: the Buddha's own teaching, he recalls, must be examined as a goldsmith examines gold, by burning, cutting and rubbing it, and not accepted out of mere reverence. In *The Universe in a Single Atom* (2005) he goes so far as to state that, if scientific investigation conclusively proved a Buddhist claim false, it would have to be abandoned. Understanding of emptiness is reached first through logical analysis, and only afterwards does meditation turn it into direct experience. The faith he defends is trust grounded in reason, not its opposite.

Ritirarsi dal mondo o trasformarlo?

Monk and statesman: universal responsibility demands acting for others

Impegnarsi nel mondoLo dice espressamente

The Dalai Lama embodies the tension between monastic renunciation and public responsibility. He has been a monk since childhood and devotes hours each day to meditation, but for decades he was the political head of the Tibetans in exile, until in 2011 he transferred that authority to an elected government. He proposed a five-point peace plan (1987) and a «middle way» of autonomy for Tibet, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his defence of nonviolence. In Ethics for the New Millennium he holds that compassion must be translated into universal responsibility: caring for the well-being of all, including future generations and the planet, is an obligation for anyone, believer or not. He has promoted dialogue with science and between religions. Inner practice is indispensable, but its proof is action.

McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh · India

Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala

Tushita Meditation Centre (FPMT)

Tushita is a centre for the study and practice of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism in the forest above McLeod Ganj, a few minutes from the Dalai Lama's residence. Affiliated with the FPMT, it is known for its ten-day residential introduction to Buddhism courses, held in partial silence, which combine meditation with teachings on the lamrim, the graded path the Dalai Lama has emphasised throughout his life. It also offers intermediate, weekend and online courses, and drop-in sessions by donation. For many Westerners it is the first doorway to Tibetan Buddhism in the setting of the exile community.

Gangchen Kyishong, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh · India

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA)

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives is the Tibetan library and cultural institution in Dharamsala, established at the Dalai Lama's initiative in 1970 to preserve the texts, manuscripts and objects the community was able to save in exile. Besides its archive and museum, it offers courses in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language attended by students from many countries and taught by teachers of the tradition. Its website explains registration, fees and accommodation. It is a more academic and unhurried path of study that complements attending the Dalai Lama's public teachings in the same town.

Templo principal tibetano (Tsuglagkhang), McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala · India

Public teachings of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala

Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

When the Dalai Lama teaches in Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile, he does so at the main temple in McLeod Ganj, before monks, Tibetans and visitors from around the world. His office publishes the schedule of teachings and events, notes that dates may change, and webcasts many of them live with translation. Events are free unless otherwise noted: the Dalai Lama himself accepts no fees for his talks. To attend in Dharamsala one must register a few days beforehand in the temple courtyard with the documents listed on the website.