The Book of Joy

divisions do you have in your army? Why is China scared of you?’ And
that is what surprises me—maybe they are right—a spiritual leader is
something that should be taken very seriously. We hope that God’s world
will become a better place, more hospitable to goodness, more hospitable
to compassion, more hospitable to generosity, more hospitable to living
together so we don’t have what is happening now between Russia and the
Ukraine, or what is happening with ISIS, or what is happening in Kenya
or Syria. They make God weep.”
The Archbishop turned to leave but then paused again as another
journalist asked about the purpose of his trip. “We are together just to
enjoy our friendship and to talk about joy.”
The Archbishop and the Dalai Lama were whisked away by a waiting
motorcade. The drive to the Dalai Lama’s residence was about three-
quarters of an hour. The streets had been closed to allow the Dalai Lama
to go to the airport, and Tibetans, Indians, and a few tourists were lining
the streets, hoping to get a glimpse of him and his special guest. I
realized now why the Dalai Lama so rarely makes the pilgrimage to the
airport. It is a major logistical operation that shuts down one of the main
roads and impacts the whole city.
We were here to discuss joy in the face of life’s challenges, and
everywhere in Dharamsala were reminders that this was a community
that had been traumatized by oppression and exile. The town clings to
winding hillside roads, and craft stalls hang over the edges of sheer cliffs.
Like construction throughout India and so much of the developing world,
building codes and security precautions were waved aside to make room
for the exploding population. I wondered how these structures would fare
in an earthquake, and feared that the whole city might be shaken off the
back of these mountains like a leaf from a waking animal.
The motorcade snaked up as the lines of the devout thickened, some
burning incense and many others with mala beads draped around their
prayerfully cupped hands. It is hard for non-Tibetans to understand how
much the Dalai Lama means to the Tibetan people, and this exile
community in particular. He is both the symbol of their national and
political identity and also the embodiment of their spiritual aspirations.