A friend and I were discussing the Dalai Lama turning 80, and that he has said he will be the last, and the office will not be passed on. She was upset, and I understand her grief, but I feel when I hear him say this, it is a lesson in how everything changes. The Chinese have torn out the Tibetan culture by the roots and inserted Han Chinese in its place. They may also pick their own heir as Dalai Lama, as they have with other Lamas, so the tradition is sabotaged and corrupted. Tibetans have had to adjust to new lands and cultures, and it looks like there is no going back in the foreseeable future. We all must adapt to change, and hope a new path for the dharma is born.
Change is the one constant. When we trust that truth, and speak it, we aid people in seeing what is so. Everything is evolving and transforming, including us. But each time something dies something new is born. Last year my brother died and my grandson was born. I felt both deeply. I will not be around for most of my grandson's life, but he exists, as do my other grandchildren, and I take comfort in them and the cycle of life. This is what humanity is. We can fiddle with this and that and pretend we have control over our lives, or we can enjoy our brief time upon this beautiful earth and treasure its gifts.
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