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Views on the Dalai Lama
adamcrossley
VeteranUK Veteran
How do other traditions (i.e. not the Tibetan tradition) view the Dalai Lama? Do they generally accept him as a reincarnation, or only as an important Buddhist voice, or not accept him at all?
And how do you view him?
EDIT:
I know that he himself has stated that he isn’t sure whether or not he’s a reincarnation of Avalokitesvara, as tradition has it. But he has said that he feels a powerful connection with both the Bodhisattva and Sakyamuni Buddha.
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I have the utmost respect for him, and consider him to be an inspiration. Not THE inspiration though. I am not a committed devotee of Tibetan Buddhism so I consider him a wise example and an intelligent and erudite being. But I don't necessarily agree with everything he says or all of the policies he holds.
Thanks for your answer, @federica
Whenever I hear people outside of the Tibetan tradition speak of HHDL they always hold him in high regard as a person. I can't say I ever remember anyone referring to his reincarnation status though.
He is the most widely/well known Buddhist in the Western world and many Westerners mistakenly see him as the head of Buddhism (the Buddhist pope so to speak)...He does not see himself as this...far from it...
I have read some of his books and have had the good fortune to attend a couple of his Dharma talks when he visited NZ...There's no question that he is a wise and compassionate man...At these talks I've seen monks & nuns from different Buddhist schools sects and traditions attend...
Not only has he introduced many Westerners to Buddhism, and not necessarily just Tibetan Buddhism, he's introduced many to the Buddha Dharma which goes beyond schools and sects...
On the whole I feel that he has been a great gift to Western thinking (the Western mindset) taking many out of their comfort zone....
But thus have I heard the Buddha said something along the lines of "Don't believe everything you hear or think"...."Ehipassiko" ....One must see for themselves .....
And as for the reincarnation thing...I don't know what other traditions think about his personal reincarnation ...
Personally I'm familiar with rebirth and the mind stream so I would say anything is possible in this dream world ....
That’s a tantalising statement. Would you mind elaborating?
Every moment is a new beginning, and this so called self ( bundle of vibrating energy flux held together by karmic glue AKA the five aggregates) is being reborn from moment to moment this is due to one's old habits which keep connecting to past events or attempting to foresee the future, hence the dreamworld in which we/the self lives in... a world of make believe (don't believe everything you think)...
While I practice Tibetan Buddhism, the HHDL doesn't represent all of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the head of one school, that is all. But he is revered and respected as a wise teacher for good reason, I think. He's a human, and he's not perfect, but I've been impressed with his ability to truly listen and be present with people in a way that allows him to change his mind, even from such deeply held beliefs as those he's spent his entire life living within. Some people are special, and we don't always know quite why. But you can tell being in their presence. HHDL is one of them. You're likely to find, though, that opinions vary a lot between people of even the same schools of Buddhism.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to hear him speak when he visited the country. He certainly is a special person and an important voice for Buddhism, and I love him for his views on kindness. Whether he is a reincarnation of Avalokitesvara I honestly cannot say, but do we not all carry the Buddha nature?
I don't care if he's an incarnation of dog shit. He helps to make the daisies bloom and that's good enough for me. I like him.
I like him too. He is a daisy pusher.
Up the daisies. Flower power. Dahlia Loama for Pope!
Incidentally lama is latin for swamp. Just sayin' ...
On a personal level I find as a religious and deposed secular state head, I like him. Maybe India can invade Tibet as a public service, much as the Chinese did.
Then what?
I love him. To me, he exudes happiness, calm, compassion and love. While I'm a follower of some of Tibetan Buddhism, I'm also a follower of Thich Nhat Hahn and his style of Zen.
I hold him in high esteem. Much like everyone does/did with Stephen Hawking.
Dali Lama makes me happy. Iz enabling plan! Long live Stephen Hawking!
.... may have got the wrong end of the llama again ... 
I'm far from traditional but I just love the guy.
Seeing him in Toronto was moving to say the least. The power this fairly humble monk commands is amazing.
Afaik, he is not a reincarnation of Avalokiteśvara, his office is a series of emanation bodies of the bodhisattva. He is, though, believed to be the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, which he has shared himself to be skeptical of at times as well.
Determining birth through power of aspiration & faith is a practice that stretches back all the way to Śrāvaka Buddhism. Buddhists of other sects may or may not believe the Dalai Lama is a good teacher for X or Y reason, but its completely plausible that he is the reincarnation of his predecessor IMO.