c. 2007 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) As the Dalai Lama tours the U.S. this month, filling concert halls and auditoriums, many will note the Tibetan Buddhist leader’s ochre robes, his hearty laugh and his pleas for compassionate living.

But there’s much more to the man than his “spiritual cuddly side,” journalist Mayank Chhaya notes in his recently published biography, “Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic.”

The Dalai Lama is also a statesman, a Nobel Laureate and head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, who has passionately _ but non-violently _ confronted China over Tibet’s autonomy since 1959.

Chhaya, a veteran journalist from India now based in Chicago, talked about the many aspects of the Dalai Lama _ his personal charm, his activism and his appeal to Americans. Following are excerpts.

Q: What made you want to write about the Dalai Lama?

A: This is a subject that for some reason has been in my universe since early childhood. My fascination has several layers. It began early as a sight, or visual thing (growing up in western India and meeting Tibetan refugees); then I began reading about Tibet. And when the Dalai Lama was attending a congress on the synthesis of science and religion in Bombay in 1989 I began to wonder what it would be like to sit down with him.

Q: You were able to interview the Dalai Lama personally several times for the book. What were your personal impressions of him?

A: The first thing that struck me was that, before I even talked to him, several of his (advisers) told me that he enjoys very vigorous conversation, so I should not hold back from asking him any questions. There were no boundaries, which I found very interesting, because, when dealing with other prominent leaders, especially religious leaders, they were rather guarded. This was totally the opposite. Tibetan Buddhism has a lot of intellectual underpinning _ they like to debate concepts.

Q: Why do you think he is so popular in the U.S.?

A: I think it begins with curiosity. He is very charming and exotic looking, with his ochre robes. His message is totally free from dogma or the do’s and don’t’s that people might be used to in the U.S. People in the U.S. always seem to be searching for something new. It think its as much a tribute to what he says as it is about the openness Westerners have about new ideas.

Q: Do you think his personal charm and the exotic part of his appeal may cause people to overlook his reason for coming to the U.S., to talk about Tibet?

A: He has walked that chalk line very successfully. He is the most visible symbol of the cause and he has to keep building on his personal popularity if only to push the cause (for Tibetan autonomy). But it doesn’t even register with him that he’s a celebrity. He genuinely thinks he’s an ordinary monk.

Q: I was struck by how much of your biography you devote to Tibet’s political situation. Why did you chose to do that?

A: I am addressing a completely uninitiated reader who might only vaguely know about this monk. I had to put everything in perspective in order to explain that this is not just some strange monk floating around on the world stage. There are some very important day-to-day hardships and challenges at stake (in Tibet).

Q: Did you get a sense in talking to him that he would gladly put all of this globe-trotting advocacy aside in a minute if Tibet gained autonomy?

A: One hundred percent. I think when he says he wants to be an ordinary monk it cannot be considered posturing. It’s clear that he’s absolutely not interested in keeping up his own personal power if Tibet becomes autonomous today. (But) Dalai Lama has been the very embodiment of Tibet and since 1959 it has essentially been a standoff between a single individual and a nation. You take the Dalai Lama out of the equation and one has to wonder.

Q: You quote one professor who says many people concentrate on the Dalai Lama’s “spiritual cuddly side” and downplay the political situation in Tibet and the Buddhist doctrine he teaches. Do you think that’s true?

A: It is. But I find there are many people who have basically had their fill of that exotica since he comes here so many times. Now most of them do focus on the more substantive issues. The media has begun to understand that there is something far beyond the exotic attraction. There are serious issues and serious problems that Tibetans face. They are already in danger of being wiped out.

Q: I get a sense from the book that the nexus of science and religion is something the Dalai Lama thinks about quite often.

A: Absolutely. It has to do with Buddhism’s pursuit of inquiry in life. There’s no exalted entity, there’s no sense of a god. They generally believe that humans can solve things themselves. He has been deeply interested in things like neuroscience. He sincerely believes there are techniques in Buddhism meditation that can have a bearing on neuroscience.

Q: You write that the Dala Lamai is a very affable and generous man but it’s difficult to know him personally _ there’s a mysterious side that’s hard to fathom.

A: It’s not by design. I think it has to do with his role as Dalai Lama. They’ve been historical figures cut away from the humdrum realities of life. They’re not accessible in any sense of the word. You couldn’t be back-slapping him and saying, “Hey Dude, come have a drink.”

KRE/LF END BURKE

Editors: To obtain a photo of Mayank Chhaya and file photos of the Dalai Lama, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.