Dalai Lama gives Bradford his blessing

[WisdomBeing]

What do you think of this news? Regardless of what you think of the Dalai Lama in relation to Dorje Shugden, should someone of His Holiness' stature endorse a football club? I kind of have mixed feelings about it. I do think that doing this is kind of beneath His Holiness' role as a High Lama, but perhaps he is evolving with the times. Here in one stroke, he would have given football (i shall refrain from saying hooligans) fans a Dharma imprint so maybe it is a very skillful means to reach a different crowd. With modern lamas like Dzongsar Khyentse who has a very public passion for football, perhaps it is a new era where High Lamas don't only sit on thrones but also in the stadium!!! I do feel a bit sad though that their legendary statures will suffer in order to appeal to the barbaric masses (no i did not say hooligans) but perhaps it is because these are the degenerate times and the Lamas will evolve accordingly. Will people respect the lamas less if they start kissing babies and cutting ribbons to launch the neighbourhood grocery store like politicians?


Dalai Lama gives Bradford his blessing ahead of Capital One Cup final against Swansea
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/bradford-city/9846981/Dalai-Lama-gives-Bradford-his-blessing-ahead-of-Capital-One-Cup-final-against-Swansea.html

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has given his blessing to Bradford City ahead of their Capital One Cup final against Swansea later this month.
By Telegraph Sport10:49AM GMT 04 Feb 2013


hil Parkinson's side have stunned English football by knocking out three Premier League teams en route to Wembley and becoming the first side from the fourth tier in over 50 years to reach the final.

After first being made aware of the club at a conference last year, the Tibetan spiritual leader has sent a letter of support to the cup giant-killers ahead of the final on Feb 24.

Last summer fans’ group Friends of Bradford City presented the 14th Dalai Lama, Tensin Gyatso, with a personalised claret and amber City shirt and made him their honorary president.

Since then, City have moved up the League Two table, reached the last eight of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and beaten Wigan, Arsenal and Aston VIlla to reach the League Cup final.

The Dalai Lama received his shirt at the Yorkshire International Business Forum in Leeds.



The message read:“On behalf of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, may I offer you, and indeed the whole team of players for Bradford City, huge congratulations on your incredible success.

“If His Holiness' blessing has helped in any way towards your wonderful efforts, I hope that blessing will continue to bring you good fortune.

“He would hope that this tremendous achievement can be turned into an opportunity to help others, demonstrating the power of sport to bring happiness to others on and off the pitch.

“He remembers his time in Yorkshire with great affection and wishes you every success in the big match. Of course, we at the Office of Tibet also wish you the best of luck in the final!”

Friends of Bradford City’s chairman Mark Neale said: “When I opened the letter you could have blown me over with a feather. FIrst I get the shock of reaching a major Cup final, then receive a letter from the Dalai Lama. The heart can’t take much more.”

[Big Uncle]

I have no qualms about the Dalai Lama giving his support to a football team. Come on, give the real football fans a break. This has got nothing to do with hooliganism but just the Dalai Lama's appreciation for others and vice versa.

I think it is lovely and a wonderful way for the Dalai Lama to reach out to the massive football crowd out there. I don't even think the Dalai Lama intended this to be just about reaching out but about appreciation of others. It is nice and refreshing sometimes to see a spiritual leader in a different, an unconventional setting. This is not really relevant to the Dharma but it is relevant to the way they perceive the Dalai Lama which may be a reason for people to enter the Dharma.

[Q]

Nice picture of the Dalai Lama hehe...

I do not see anything wrong about endorsing a football club. Historically, sports has brought more peace and harmony between nations compared to religion lol! In the past, during the ancient times (perhaps even now...) when two nations have a certain disagreement but do not wish to engage in war, usually decide to use sports to determine the winner.

Even now, for example the World Cup tournaments, although they do make a whole lot of money from it, but I think these tournaments is a way to promote world peace by promoting tolerance between nations.

There have been a variety of ways where we've used sports to promote peace or even raise funds for a charity... for example, Run for the orphans or Run for breast cancer... etc.

So I don't really think HHDL is putting himself 'down' by endorsing something as mundane as a football club, but it is in line with HHDL wish and campaign to promote world peace.

[WisdomBeing]

Sports to promote peace? You are obviously not familiar with English football!

Just for mid-week fun.. see this article below...

Swansea City: Dai Lama backs Jacks for Capital One Cup
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-21320446

By Neil Prior
BBC News

After the Dalai Lama's public backing for Bradford City in this month's Capital One Cup final, their opponents Swansea City now have the backing of Dai Lama.

Last year the Friends of Bradford City presented the Tibetan spiritual leader with one of the League Two club's shirts during his visit to Leeds.

The Dalai Lama also issued a blessing for his adopted team at the weekend, ahead of the Wembley showpiece.

Now Dai Lama - an amateur Welsh sport pundit with until recently a mostly local fan-base on Twitter - says he too has something of a worldwide following on the social networking site.

"It's mainly Swans fans turning to me in their hour of need... rest assured I will not let them down”

Dai Lama
Who is backing Swansea City

"My follower number on Twitter has shot up over the last 24 hours," said Dai, who tweets as @WelshDalaiLama.

"It's mainly Swans fans turning to me in their hour of need. Rest assured I will not let them down."

Like the Dalai Lama, Dai will not be able to attend Wembley in person on 24 February.

But he will send his own best wishes to the Swans - widely known as the Jacks - via tweets.

He warned, though: "But I think it's only fair to warn the Swansea faithful that the last team on whom I bestowed my Twitter 'blessing' were the Welsh rugby side last Saturday."

Welsh rugby fans will not need reminding that their side suffered their eighth consecutive defeat - and record-breaking fifth loss in a row at home - to Ireland in the Six Nations.

However, Swansea fans will hope they do not require any such help, having knocked out European champions Chelsea in the semi-final to reach Wembley.

In case you didn't notice, the article is not about the Dalai Lama but Dai Lama... and who is this Dai Lama? I'm Dai Lama – the Welsh Dalai Lama. I talk about chanting, happiness and world peace. I love rugby, leeks, Tom Jones, Brains bitter & Joes Ice Cream. - http://welshdalailama.wordpress.com/

[Rihanna]

Excellent news that HH Dalai Lama  has taken an interest in Bradford City Football Club and sent best wishes for the League Cup Final.

I agree with Wisdom Being that "I do feel a bit sad though that their legendary statures will suffer in order to appeal to the barbaric masses (no i did not say hooligans) but perhaps it is because these are the degenerate times and the Lamas will evolve accordingly". This was what crossed my mind when I was reading this article. All the different methods a Lama has to think of to evolve with times in order to reach out to all sentient beings. This would have been a 'no-no' thing to do even during the 13th Dalai Lama time.

But then, looking at it from a wider perspective, if we regard the Dalai Lama as the emanation of Chenresig, and that all enlightened beings have equanamity, then what is wrong with Dalai Lama blessing footballers? Aren't they sentient beings too??

[pgdharma]

 Though it may seem unconventional due to our wrong perception, I think this is a wonderful and skilful approach for the Dalai Lama to reach out to a different mass. There is nothing wrong for the Dalai Lama to endorse and acknowledge a football club. They are sentient beings and they need blessings too. In fact, sport is a way to promote peace and harmony and the footballers are very fortunate to have received blessings from HHDL.

[yontenjamyang]

It is very good and that the Dalai Lama reaching out to the world of sports albeit via football/soccer and the English Premier League (EPL). As the Dalai Lama, there is not other better person to bless the EPL, fans all over the world. And I mean bless not in the ordinary sense but really bless as in the Buddhist sense.
As to whether the EPL barbaric or hooliganistic or not, I cannot comment. The Buddhas can enter the hells to do their deeds. So the EPL is "heaven" in relative term.
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with sports. It is the human delusions that is at fault. So the Dalai is skillful even if some of us has a preconceive idea about what he should or should not do.

[Ensapa]

I think over the years, the Dalai Lama seemed to have manifest more and more 'humanistic' qualities and talking like he was just another human being just like us: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/9261750/Dalai-Lama-What-do-I-really-fear-Being-eaten-by-sharks.html

I dont really know why the Dalai Lama has chosen now to talk about this, but one thing for sure is that it is like he is preparing to do something because his patterns are starting to change from being purely spiritual and authoritative to being more humanistic in nature. Perhaps it is a sign that he would say soon that he made a "mistake" with the Dorje Shugden ban?