There’s no doubt about it: From what I know about the Dalai Lama, he’s an extremely peaceful, intelligent, compassionate individual. One could go on and on listing his positive attributes. However, it seems, despite all of his wisdom, the Dalai Lama has a penchant for speaking about things beyond his expertise. Aside from the fact that it may be interesting and insightful to hear the opinions of such a worldly man on important issues, I’m not sure why people want to listen.
Later this week, researchers from the University of Wisconsin will be meeting with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, where the leader of the stateless Tibetan people has lived since he fled under threat of Chinese occupation in 1959. The topics of the meeting will be ethics, the environment and interdependence. The Dalai Lama, with his immeasurable wisdom and life experience, could certainly have some sagacious insight regarding ethical matters – perhaps even environmental ethics. But why exactly UW scientists are holding a special meeting with him on these issues is unclear to me.
Certainly, philosophers should have some voice in public discourse regarding important political and ethical issues, and I’m not blaming the researchers for wanting to meet with the Dalai Lama. I would jump at the opportunity to meet with such a thoughtful and peace-loving individual, but I can’t help but wonder why any of us should care much about what he has to say about environmental ethics. I don’t see how he’s particularly qualified to guide public discussion of the issue; he may be a very wise monk, but he is not an environmental scientist.
It seems like meetings like these are part of a bigger trend. Especially with the advent of social media, it’s easier than ever for people to follow celebrities and hear their thoughts on issues. But their celebrity status leads us to ignore their credentials to weigh in on a given issue. In this case, it’s the Dalai Lama speaking on the environment. Another example could be Al Gore, who is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. By all accounts Gore is an intelligent man, but not an actual scientific expert on climate change.
Furthermore, although it’s obviously a good thing that the Dalai Lama is promoting awareness of the plight of the Tibetan people, one could even argue he is not qualified to speak about how Tibet should gain independence. As leader of the Tibetan people, it is unclear what exactly he has done to improve the chances of Tibet becoming an independent state.
With the possibility of violence looming, he fled his country along with thousands of refugees in 1959 in order to set up a government in exile in India. Since then, he has traveled the world, speaking on a myriad of topics and promoting a peaceful resolution to this conflict, all while gaining greater celebrity status. But has any of this furthered the means of the Tibetan people to gain independence? Thus far, it seems the answer is no.
I would not fault the thousands of other Tibetan refugees for seeking to preserve themselves when the Chinese occupied Tibet. However, it seems peculiar that their leader, who believes he can reincarnate after death if he so chooses, would flee his homeland and then spend his life traveling the world and criticizing the Chinese government from afar. This seems an awfully passive way to lead one’s people, and yet the Dalai Lama won a Nobel Peace Prize for it.
The Dalai Lama is worthy of high praise in many areas, but it seems that in others he has been given status as an expert without reason. We as a society tend to take the word of those with celebrity status much more seriously than we should, whether they’re qualified to speak on a given subject or not. For all of the good he’s done, it seems like the Dalai Lama is another such figurehead.
Ryan Plesh ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in philosophy and physics.
