We are passersby (says Jesus) and tourists (says the Dalai Lama)
Whenever we can connect the Dalai Lama and Jesus, we know we are in the right place.
The Gospel of Thomas, sometimes called the Fifth Gospel, is a collection of sayings of Jesus that parallel and supplement the canonical gospels.
It contains this short and simple direction:
- Be passersby
This enigmatic saying for me has the depth of any words in scripture.
Today I came across related wisdom from the Dalai Lama, who makes the same point. Just as Jesus is not offering a limited Christian perspective, the Dalai Lama is not offering a limited Buddhist perspective. It is a fact of human life.
Here the Dalai Lama comments on verses from Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva.
We are all here on this planet, as it were, as tourists. None of us can live here forever. The longest we might live is a hundred years. So while we are here we should try to have a good heart and to make something positive and useful of our lives. Whether we live just a few years or a whole century, it would be truly regrettable and sad if we were to spend that time aggravating the problems that afflict other people, animals, and the environment. The most important thing is to be a good human being.
Dalai Lama, For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva
Passersby. Tourists. Together.
Note: By coincidence—or is it?—this was created spontaneously today on the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama.
Bob Schwartz 