So apparently news came out recently that the Dalai Lama tried to get a boy to suck his tongue. This isn’t to the same level as Catholic priests raping little boys BUT wtf? And apparently he lived in OPULENCE in Tibet while the local Tibetans there live in abject poverty. And he was paid by the CIA. Oh, and he has a net worth of $150M. See, MSM just doesn’t tell you that. People are raised on pedestals and you only get one story. This “news” only recently broke out but the CIA stuff was known DECADES ago, but was never told to us.
First, it was the Catholic Priests. Then it was Bill Cosby. He played the “Worlds Greatest Dad” in the tv show, and was known for his upstanding moral character (the irony). It was all hushed and we didn’t hear about it until DECADES later. Then there was Oprah and Ellen- no they did not rape anyone- but there are numerous stories about they are just evil to their employees and staff. But they were put up on pedestals for DECADES and “known” for their generosity and kindness and empathy. Again the irony.
My point is this- We are all being mislead by celebs/media/news. Many of them are later to be found doing despicable things. Not all celebs are evil obviously. But so many are. And the Media- They put these ppl on pedestals and we are told a particular narrative. And they keep repeating it. And we believe it. But we are being lied to.
When I was in school, we’d ALWAYS get these stupid assignments where we had to write about our “heroes” and who we wanted to be when we grow up- basically forcing us to WANT to be someone currently famous or a historical figure. But what we are often told about so and so famous person and so and so historical figure are fucking LIES. I never fully understood why I hated those stupid essays we had to write, but I do now. What we are told about our “heroes” are either fabrications or gross omissions of the truth.
There are very few “heroes.” The “heroes” we are told to revere turn out to be phonies or just downright evil (like Christopher Columbus who literally slaughtered MILLIONS and decimated the Native population. And the ones that didn’t die, he enslaved, tortured, beat, raped, and mutilated) but we were taught he was AMAZING in school. And the genocide part was conveniently left out. Oh, And that he “discovered” America, which he clearly did not. But we were taught that anyway. (You younger generations are taught a little bit of the truth now from what I hear, well I guess depending on what state you live you, you will be taught a different narrative).
The few heroes we do have, we put them in jail (Julian Assange) for daring to expose American war crimes and other crimes being committed by our intelligence agencies. He dared expose the truth and they threw him in jail. Message to all the journalists out there- keep hush or we’ll throw you in jail too!
Anyhow, point is this- we are constantly being lied to- certain ppl are propped up as “heroes” or amazing human beings, when they are definitely not and is either covered up by media intentionally, or unintentionally bc no one knows how to be an investigative journalist anymore.
Anyway, my point is- why the fuck should we revere ANY human and put ANY human on a pedestal? Peel the onion and often the dark evil parts are exposed. That’s not to say EVERYONE that’s famous for being great/amazing/etc are evil- BUT I would gander that only 10% of the ones that are propped up ACTUALLY ARE. And even if they are, many of the stories are greatly exaggerated and glossed up.
Anyhow, hearing about the Dalai Lama shocked me. Even as jaded as I am, I had thought he was one of the good ones. I guess I just won’t believe in anyone anymore, that way I won’t be disappointed when the truth eventually comes out.
12 comments
I think the ‘suck my tounge’ thing was a misunderstanding due to bad translation. Yet another example of englush speaking people imposing english bias on a different language, and not understanding that different language have their own unique biasis, and they are not interchangeable.
For example, I met a woman with who had the chinese character for ‘female’ tattooed to her leg. And I think that woman wanted ‘woman’ as in – I am woman, here me roar, which is a connotation you would attach to the english word ‘woman’. However, the chinese word doesn’t really have that meaning… it’s more clinical. About gender. It has less emotion attached to it. So that tattoo looked wierd,,,, it just looked like she labelled herself ‘female’. I think we all know the lesson here about getting inked in a language you don'[t understand…
But your point is taken. Not that I think the dalai lama is perfect. After all, he did support NXIVM, pretty sure because he was paid off. I don’t think he’s evil, maybe just pragmatic.
And for the record, I don’t think Julian assange is anyone to hold up. He had an agenda to influence the 2016 US election. Whether he did this consciously, or he was an unknowing stooge, not sure. Either way, dangerous.
This kind of aspiration is specifically american. I’m glad I was not brainwashed to aspire to celebrities , the fact is they’re all human and imperfect. A religious person would say that’s why you can’t worship man… man is fallible, even the dalai lama. Still not ready to put faith in a religious fantasy though…
How presumptious of you to assume I have English bias. English is not my native language so do not presume I am an “English speaking person imposing English speaking bias on other languages.”
I had initially thought at first, that there was a translation issue. But in the video, you can clearly hear him say “suck” in English. I replayed the video multiple times bc I never take the news on face value anymore unless I can see the actual video, audio, or photos. Also, they issued an apology, so clearly they acknowledged wrongdoing. Also, he made the kid kiss him in the mouth, so it’s not just the suck part. But beyond that- bc the whole kiss/suck interaction is weird- that’s not really what bothered me, if it was just that by itself bc it could be misconstrued. There is no denying he was paid by the CIA. He also lived in opulence in Tibet while the masses lived in poverty. A dalai lama isn’t supposed to live like that. That’s the issue that bothered me. It’s all this other stuff- not just one interaction in the video that could be misconstrued.
Anyway, I’m not saying he’s evil and he’s obviously not like Bill Cosby evil. That’s why I mentioned Oprah and Ellen- they aren’t evil. But they were put up on pedestals, specifically for how nice and amazing and warm and friendly and generous and kind they are. Only to find out they’re phony and actually really shitty to people.
The point of the post isn’t to vilify the Dalai Lama- I’m just saying it’s disappointing to hear of supposed good people and seeing how he really isn’t what he’s portrayed, like Oprah or Ellen or whoever. And like I said, this isn’t just about the interaction with the boy as this interaction is fuzzy. It’s all the other stuff that he has done or is a part of.
it’s like hearing Ghandi was not really a good person when you’ve been hearing nothing but how nice and kind he was your whole life. No I’m not saying Ghandi was a bad person, just saying for example if stuff came out that showed otherwise.
Also, Buddhism is not a religion or a faith. It’s a philosophy. A way of life. And no, I do not follow Buddhism nor “put faith in religious fantasy.” I do not follow the Dalai Lama. I have just heard of him here and there over the decades and I’ve seen clips of him here and there on the news and such. So no, I did not “worship” or revere him.
“Anyway, my point is- why the fuck should we revere ANY human and put ANY human on a pedestal?”
I think I can answer that… not even being cynical.. Humans need role models. Humans need idols and leaders and heroes and gods. At the very least, humans need parents they can admire & emulate. Without that stuff you end up like me. Fucked in the head, trying to figure out this entire universe, molecule by molecule, all by myself. It’s not a good life.
So long ago humans probably realized this and created their first tribal leader, elevated him to godlike status, built him a few pyramids and gave themselves a paragon to believe in. What’s the alternative…? Following no one? Following yourself? That’ gets excruciatingly lonely.
I’ve always distrusted the dalai lama, just as I distrust all religious mouthpieces, cult leaders and people who claim they can call up the virgin mary on the phone. No living human is above anyone else in the knowledge of the unknown. We’re all blind & making guesses. But that thought is terrifying (the realization that NOBODY knows!), so let’s pick some bald fool, slap a robe on him, and proclaim him the direct conduit to god so we can follow him and feel like we’re doing what’s right.
Spoiler: there is no such thing as ‘what’s right’. Choke on that for a minute.
I know I’m sounding cynical now, but I mean this as a psychological truth: humans need guides, we need mentors, leaders & legends to validate us. Without it, it’s gonna be a miserable existence.
I wish to high hell I had a hero to believe in, just 1 in all of history. But they all come crashing down on close inspection. Aint it grand when you’re reading Voltaire, thinking you’re expanding your horizons, and then you stumble on that batshit racist stuff he wrote? Or how bout that stuff in the bible about fucking your daughters. No thanks, the only paragons I see are paragons of the same human bs in everyone, regardless of how finely woven their robes are.
Buddhism is not a religion. It’s not like Christianity or Catholicism or Judaism where there are miracles being performed by deities. There is no God that we are supposed to believe in, follow and worship. There are no virgin mary’s and no mortal son of a god walking on water.
Anyhow, I’m not a Buddhist or follow Buddhism and that isn’t the point of the post.
It’s about people being propped up. Hell, it’s not even about leaders being propped up. I mentioned Oprah and Ellen bc the post is about how people are propped up, for decades, for being x, y, z and then it turns out they really aren’t what they appear to be.
Hell, I’ve never revered anyone. I’ve always grown up jaded about stuff and people. I did however assume the Dalai Lama was a good person. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Who knows. But that line is no longer clear cut.
Buddhism professes that there is a god. It even goes so far as to decree a heirarchy of souls. They may hide behind the label of ‘philisophy’ but call a spade a spade: any ‘philosophy’ that claims the existence of gods and spirits and souls is a religion.
ps I’m not just talking out my ass. I escaped a buddhist cult and thats all I’ll say on the fucking matter.
From what I’ve been told and read, Buddhism does not claim to believe in gods or deities. but again, I do not follow Buddhism. Also, there are extremist groups. Perhaps you joined a group that warped the Buddhism message bc the whole message of Buddhism is about peace and all that. There are extremist groups that warp the teachings, like the suicide bombers who claim they need to kill ppl in the name of Allah. I’m not saying you didn’t join a cult here in America- ppl warp shit all the time to control their followers. That group you joined likely isn’t representative of Buddhism that is followed in Asia. I’ve met Asian Buddhists from Asia and they seem like nice peace loving people. They do tell me Buddhism here is very different though.
anyhow, the point of the post isn’t about buddhism. sorry you joined a cult that warped whatever teachings of what buddhism was supposed to be. there are perfectly normal christian or catholic groups and then there are those extremist groups that warp the religion and get violent or do bad things “in the name of religion.” While I don’t believe ALL Christian or Catholic groups are inherently evil, and I obviously do not believe in gods or deities, there are extremist groups or cults that will warp a religion or a teaching.
“I wish to high hell I had a hero to believe in, just 1 in all of history. But they all come crashing down on close inspection.”
Yes, that’s the point. Pretty much everyone who’ve been hailed as “great” people, whether it’s historical figures or just current famous people, often turn out not to be.
We’re brilliant masters of disguise and manipulation, as well as naive, and easily fooled by clever charlatans who know how to play on our weaknesses. All the more reason why the universe will be a smidge cleaner when we figure out how to completely eradicate ourselves. From the mightiest king to the humblest peasant, humans deceive.
The golden dagger of the pharoahs, biblical scholars considered it the only weapon powerful enough to smite the evil forces of Babylon, but they were wrong
Throughout history, strong men, even good men; entertainers, athletes and missionaries
have all done their best to battle the beast
and they’ve always failed
because, fact is today’s Babylon loves heroes, it buys and sells them like hogs at a market. Go ahead and make me laugh little man.
prancing around in their magic box, it’s a prison with plastic microchip bars, gilded with the hahaha, and the woop dee doo
all that to say; you don’t “make it” in today’s world without bargaining with some degree of evil. I think trying to appear “good” is a terrible prison we allow people to put themselves in, Cosby and the Dalai Lama included. They probably had the same amount of perversion and evil as the rest of us, but then fame and money happened. Further, to continue to collect that wealth, they had to appear wholesome.
Not that it excuses either of their actions. Rather, this is their form of rebellion, their strike against the false image of heroes and paragons. They’re human beings, human beings make mistakes.
I’m a bit more inclined to forgive the Dalai Lama (as much as I am able), because of what he’s gone through. He’s the last part of his religion, because the Chinese government has given themselves permission to appoint his successor. That’s bound to be a secular individual by comparison… so he’s dying with no hope…. yet he has to stay alive because others “need him”
I guess that’s why I’m sympathetic. I’m the emotional support human for a smaller group of people, but it’s keeping me alive against my will. My ideals will also die with me.
I’m no paragon though, my perversity is a well known matter, but it is acceptable perversion, with consenting adults.