Bodyguard exemplifies self-sacrifice
Friday, January 05, 2007
Standing at the left hand of the Dalai Lama, about 10 feet from his brocaded throne, was a man who could have been any mother’s son.
Six feet tall, trim and clean-cut, his short but well-groomed black hair matching his dark suit, he stood attentive, brown eyes scanning the crowd of 500 people, waiting for some flash of movement betraying untoward intentions.
Like a hunter looking for prey, he was serious — a sentinel — a man who, despite his casual, unbuttoned white shirt, was nonetheless dangerous and alert.
As I studied his face, I could imagine his baby picture — fat cheeks that one day would be the strong and slender face I now observed, his wild dark hair flopping over mischievous eyes. I saw his toddlerhood, carrying sharp sticks to his mother’s dismay; his high-school graduation photo, smiling self-consciously.
This young agent of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service would die at any moment, willingly, for the man sitting on the throne. Tears welled in my eyes as I considered this possibility.
The Dalai Lama is called an embodiment of compassion — a human who, after gaining control of his own karmic destiny through deep meditation, chose to return again and again as a Buddhist teacher to carry on the Buddha’s work. He is also said to be the appearance in this world of Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion, whose altruism is legendary in the Buddhist world.
And yet, what made me cry was not this knowledge. Rather, it was the realization that this young man’s life — his elementary-school report cards, his first kiss, all the thoughts of deep longing he ever held in his soul — could end in a moment, as he dove in front of an assassin’s bullet to save the Dalai Lama.
The man was trained to die. He was carefully taught to sacrifice his life for a higher ideal.
Every step of that path — learning how to spot danger in a milling crowd, how to hold and shoot a gun, how to seem invisible and very present at the same time — was leading his warrior’s soul to a hero’s funeral.
Yes, that was it. A warrior. Willing to end his life to save another’s.
Who are the important people in this world? Presidents, prime ministers and kings? How are they different from this noble man?
And what did I have in my life that I would be willing to die for?
It is said that when Chenrezig was an ordinary man, he stood before a Buddha and took the Bodhisattva Vow. The vow, the entry point into the serious practice of Mahayana Buddhism, pledges that until someone reaches enlightenment, she or he will work for the benefit of all the suffering beings in the world. In fact, his or her entire path will consist of putting other beings first, dedicating all spiritual practice to the eventual liberation of the entire world.
When Chenrezig took his vow, he added an important stipulation. Until all beings had been liberated from suffering, he said, he himself would stay in the world of suffering, called samsara, working to free them.
It is said that when he did this, all those in the assembly bowed toward his courage, honoring what they themselves could not attempt.
So it was that this young agent touched my heart. Standing on the left hand of the man said to be the embodiment of Chenrezig’s compassion in this world, he was both the compassion of Chenrezig and the courage I someday hope to achieve.
Lama Kathy Wesley is resident teacher at the Columbus Karma Thegsum Choling temple. The link to the article is here.