What is All This

“One day, in the middle of a busy magazine production period, a tiny Tibetan monk with shrivelled skin and sunken eyes came to visit me in my London office. His name was Palden Gyatso and he was in London to discuss his book, Fire Under the Snow, about his experiences as a political prisoner in Tibet. It describes the torture he went through, the friends and teachers who were killed, and the tragedy of the Tibetan experience after the Chinese invasion. But the most remarkable aspect of the book is Palden’s response. I wanted to ask him whether it was really true, as he claimed, that he did not hate the Chinese, even the guards who tortured him. Or was that more of an aspiration. Palden spoke quietly and through a translator, but he looked at me intently with sad, thoughtful eyes as he tried to put his experience into words.

‘It is not that I was without hatred. Especially when I was being tortured by my guards I had immense hatred against them, because I was being hurt. But as a religious person, after the event I could reflect on what had happened and I could see that the torturers were acting out of their own ignorance. As a religious person I have to sit back, reflect, and ask myself, what is all this? Our teaching says, “Don’t let your calm be disturbed and don’t respond to anger with anger.”’

My abiding memory of Palden is of the thick, leathery feel of those hands when he gripped mine as he said goodbye, and the intense, focused energy of his smile. His words had been so simple and so direct that I had no doubts about his sincerity. I sensed that, rather than being overwhelmed by his sufferings, he had faced them directly, until eventually he became greater than them. Returning to my desk, tape recorder in hand, I felt blessed.”

~ Vishvapani Challenging Times: Stories of Buddhist Practice When Things Get Tough