I often noticed that the Dalai Lama learns from his experiences. While narrating past events, he always explains what he learned and how he uses this understanding in his life and practice. For example, he told me of an incident in his youth.
This is a strange story. On July 16, 1951, General Zhang Jinwu, who was appointed as the Chinese representative in Lhasa, came to the monastery where I was staying. Before the General entered my room, my brother, Lobsang Samten, peeked at him and came running to me. He exclaimed, “the Chinese Communist is also a human being!” You see, we had the impression the communists were demons with horns.
The Dalai Lama laughed as he continued: “When I saw that General Zhang turned out to be an ordinary human being like myself, it had a lasting impact on me. From then on, I vowed to investigate before making uninformed judgments!”
Buddha taught the path to awakening but expected people to deepen their faith through study, investigation and analysis. The Dalai Lama has learned that Buddhist teachings are applicable to even the lives of those who aren’t Buddhists.
