(TibetanReview.net, May17, 2015) – Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on May 15 met with a group of 112 business executives from Vietnam at his residence at Dharamshala, India. Although such a group had called on the Dalai Lama last year too, most of the members of the current group were in Dharamshala for the first time.
The visitors belonged to a group called the Vietnam CEO Club, with about 60 percent of them being women.
The group offered the Dalai Lama two large volumes containing commentaries by 600 contributors on Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’, with one being in English and the other in Vietnamese.
The Dalai Lama focused his talk to the visitors on the Bodhisattva Way of Life. He began by saying he had received an explanation of the volume on it, the ‘Bodhicharyavatara’, from Khunu Lama Rinpoche in 1967 with a request that he teach it as many times as he could. He spoke of having found it very helpful for transforming the mind.
After referring briefly to various chapters of the ‘Guide’, the Dalai Lama said: “Whether or not we formally follow a spiritual path, it’s important that we investigate the causes of unhappiness, which are the negative emotions, and ways to counter them. We also need to pay attention to the causes of happiness, such as love and compassion, and ways to develop them.”
Asked to give a very simple explanation of the Buddhist concept of ‘emptiness’, the Dalai Lama replied by saying things do not exist as they appear.
Also, when asked how to deal with negative emotions that arise in the course of doing business, the Dalai Lama suggested that one try to conduct business less for one’s own profit and more in order to contribute to society at large.
