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Types of Problems That People Suffer from Today There are some problems that have been going on for as long as there have been people on this planet, and probably even before that, with animals before there were humans: the problems of relating to each other, problems that come up from anger, from fights, from disputes. These are problems that everybody has been facing almost forever, so nothing special about what you or I experience now. And then, of course, there are more recent problems that just make things even more difficult, like economic problems and problems of wars and so on. So people are feeling these problems more and more. And they are not finding solutions for them, how to deal with them on a personal level, particularly in terms of their emotions, their minds. They’re not finding solutions for these in what is available to them already. But one of the wonderful developments of the modern time is communication, particularly in what we now call the Information Age, and even more with the Age of Social Media. So that means that more and more information is available to us about many alternative systems. And many great Buddhist leaders, like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, have been travelling around the world. And many people have witnessed, seen for themselves with their own eyes, those who have managed to develop themselves to an extraordinary level so that they are able to have a peaceful, calm, loving mind in the face of some of the most difficult situations, like losing your country. So this has added the quality of inspiration from a living person, which is very important in addition to just information that we can get on the Internet or in books. So people turn to Buddhism primarily because they are looking for some solution to problems that they face and they are hopeful that Buddhism will be able to offer some way to deal with life. This is the case whether Buddhism is something quite foreign to their society or it might be a traditional system of your people. The Rational Side of Buddhism Now, within this framework of looking to Buddhism to offer solutions, different aspects of Buddhism will appeal to different people. If we look at what His Holiness the Dalai Lama emphasizes, what he emphasizes, and many people find this very appealing, is the rational, analytical, and practical sides of Buddhism. He points out that the approach in Buddhism is very much like the approach in science, which means that we don’t just accept various principles simply on the basis of blind belief and devotion, but rather we follow the scientific method of using logic and reason, deep analysis, and a pragmatic approach of trying it ourselves – experimenting and seeing if the methods taught in Buddhism actually produce the results that they say they will produce, in terms of peace of mind, being able to deal with problems in a better way. And being very practical in our approach, not idealistic, but practical in terms of what is realistic, what will actually help us in our daily lives. And in addition to this, if there are aspects in the traditional Buddhist teachings which are proven to be incorrect or inconsistent with the findings of science – for instance, about the structure of the universe – then His Holiness is quite happy to drop all of that from the Buddhist teachings and substitute instead the view from science, because there’s nothing contradictory. Because Buddhism emphasizes reality not fantasy, and Buddha came not to teach us geography, but to teach us a way to deal with our problems in life. And the traditional teachings about the size of this planet, the distance from our Earth to the Sun and the Moon – these sort of things were just explained in the traditional ways in which people understood this two and a half thousand years ago. So the traditional teachings about those things are not really important; that’s not the main substance of the Buddha’s teachings. And His Holiness challenges the scientists to disprove, for example, rebirth, and not just dismiss it from consideration simply on the basis of saying, “I don’t think so.” “I don’t think so” is not a valid reason for saying that something doesn’t exist. So this is something that certainly appeals to people with a more rational mind. And there has been a great deal of what we could call cross-fertilization between the Buddhist side, led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the side of the scientists. Particularly in the field of medicine, because one of the main points that is made by the Buddhist teachings in this regard is that our health is very much affected by our state of mind. If we are very pessimistic – very negative, and always worrying about me, me, me, and so on – this weakens the immune system and our sicknesses get worse and we don’t recover so quickly. Whereas if we are optimistic, if we are thinking of everybody else who also has this type of sickness and our family and so on, then we are not complaining all the time. Our minds and hearts are much more at peace, and this strengthens the immune system. The scientists have carried out various investigations about these points and they have been shown to be true, so these methods are encouraged in many hospitals now. Also there are many methods from Buddhism that help very much with pain control. Pain is bad enough just by itself, but if you add to that fear and being very, very tight inside emotionally about it, it just makes it worse. There are various methods that Buddhism teaches with breathing meditation that help us to deal in a much better way with pain, and these have also been tested and then promoted in various hospitals. These methods do not require a whole Buddhist envelope within which to carry it. You don’t need the Buddhist teachings to be explained in any sort of detail to people in order for them to follow these methods. These are universally available methods that anybody can adopt within any belief system. But because they derive from the Buddhist teachings, then people become a little bit interested in, well, what are these Buddhist teachings about in more detail. We saw the same type of phenomenon with people who practice martial arts. The martial arts developed in Buddhist societies, and so many people who have practiced them have taken interest in what were the Buddhist backgrounds of these teachings. Inspiration from Spiritual Teachers But, of course, there are many people who are not terribly rationally oriented, who are not very scientifically oriented in their approach to life, so different aspects of Buddhism have appealed to them. One aspect I’ve already hinted at when I referred to inspiration from great spiritual masters: With more and more great spiritual masters travelling around the world, and their teachings being available in books and audio and video recordings on the Internet, people who are more devotionally oriented have been greatly inspired. When many people have been disappointed in the various leaders that they have heard about or encountered, whether in the economic sphere, political sphere, or whatever – and so they’re a bit disappointed – they look to these Buddhist masters with great hope, that here they will find somebody that is more pure. And, of course, we need to be realistic: Not every spiritual teacher that comes around from a Buddhist background is completely pure. After all they’re humans, like we are too. So they have their strong points, their weak points. But quite a large number of them are really quite extraordinary. And so people have been greatly inspired – some people, I should say – have been greatly inspired by these masters, the foremost one, as I said, being His Holiness the Dalai Lama. So what arises in their minds and in their hearts is: “I wish I could become like that.” They serve as a model for what is actually possible for us to achieve, each of us, individually. Because somebody like His Holiness the Dalai Lama always says, “There’s nothing special about me.” In fact, Buddha as well said, “Nothing special about me. I started out the same as you. I had and have the same working materials as you do – mind, heart, basic human values of taking care of others, and so on. And I worked very hard to develop them, and if you work hard as well you will be able to develop them as well.” So people like His Holiness the Dalai Lama try not to encourage people putting him way, way up as something super-holy and impossible for us to relate to or become like him. And so this is very appealing to those who are more devotionally oriented, not so scientific in their approach to life. Reviving a Tradition of Buddhist Practice Then in places that have traditionally been Buddhist, in which, because of various circumstances, the availability of the Buddhist practice has declined, then another appeal of Buddhism in the modern day is to try to revive tradition. This is a very important and valid approach because, as we face the challenges of modernization, it’s very important to have a sense of self-confidence and self-worth. If we are told that everything that our ancestors believed in was total nonsense and if we want to truly enter the modern world we have to forget about all of that, then we have a very low opinion of ourselves and our ancestors. It makes us feel that somehow we are no good, we are stupid. And with that as a belief, emotional belief, we lack any feeling of self-worth or self-confidence; we don’t have a basis to feel proud about upon which we can grow. And so turning to our traditional customs and beliefs and reviving them is a very important part, I believe, in giving us the emotional basis for further growth and modernization. Now, of course, within any tradition there will be strong points and there will be weaknesses that perhaps have been abused, and it’s important to emphasize those strong points. In one school of modern psychology, there’s a great emphasis on the principle of loyalty. Everybody has a drive to be loyal to their family, their clan, their religion, whatever it might be. And loyalty can go in two directions, either being loyal to positive qualities or loyal to negative qualities. For example, if a tradition had a negative quality of intolerance toward other traditions, and if this is what has been emphasized about that tradition, then people who reject that tradition still stay loyal to that attitude of intolerance. And so they reject it and then they’re very intolerant of anybody who could possibly have believed that way. This is negative loyalty, or misplaced loyalty. On the other hand, if one doesn’t deny the weaknesses, the weak points of a tradition, but emphasizes, again, instead the positive aspects, then people can be loyal to those positive aspects without having a blind eye toward the weak points which might cause them to repeat them. So this is another appeal of Buddhism, particularly in areas where it has been the traditional system. It has become an area in which to help to revive and develop a sense of self-worth and so on about our culture, about our ancestors, about ourselves. The Exotic Side of Buddhism There’s another group of people who find Buddhism appealing based on their own fantasies. They have problems in life and they’re looking for some magical, exotic solution to them, and Buddhism – particularly in the Tibetan/Mongolian/Kalmyk version of it – is filled with all sorts of exotic things: all these various deities with all their faces and arms and legs, all these mantras, and so on. They seem a little bit like magic words – that all we have to do is recite them a million times and all our problems will be gone. And there must be something magical about all these figures with all the arms and legs. And so they look to Buddhism as a method for gaining happiness and so on through these, as I said, magical type of methods. Although they may gain some benefit from practicing these methods (there’s no denying that there is some benefit, even if we approach Buddhism in this rather idealistic, unrealistic manner), His Holiness the Dalai Lama always emphasizes that this is not really realistic. It might have some benefit, but in the long term you’ll get disappointed because, unfortunately, there are no magic solutions. If we really want to gain peace of mind and be able to overcome our problems in life, we have to face those aspects of ourselves which are not too nice or comfortable to face. We have to face and deal with our anger, our selfishness, our greed, our attachments, and so on. And just looking for some magic solution and ignoring these personal issues is really not going to help very much. But, of course, there are many people who still find the appeal of Buddhism in these more exotic features. Summary In short, we see that there are many different aspects of Buddhism that people find attractive and appealing, but all of them derive from the basic wish to find in Buddhism methods that will help us to overcome problems in life and suffering. And regardless of what draws us to find some way of dealing with life through Buddhism, what is so wonderful about the Buddha’s teachings that everybody likes is that it actually offers us methods to follow that are intended to help us to overcome problems. It’s a living tradition with two and a half thousand years of experience, and there are still people who practice it and gain results. And so it’s just a matter of actually following these methods; it’s all laid out. And not just one method, but many, many different types of methods that Buddha taught upon the realization that everybody’s an individual and different people find different methods more useful. This is something that people find very wonderful, because within the whole variety of Buddhist methods, like having a very large menu at a restaurant, we can usually find something that suits us; and if we try one thing and it doesn’t suit us, there are many other things that are available. And the fact that we live in the Information Age means that a larger and larger number of these methods are available to us, no matter where we live.
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वर्तमान युगमा मानिसले भोग्ने समस्याहरू केही समस्याहरू त्यस्ता छन् जो यो पृथ्वीमा जहिलेदेखि मानिसहरू छन्, त्यति बेलादेखि नै विद्यमान छन्। शायद त्योभन्दा पनि पहिलादेखि छन् जतिबेला यहाँ जनावरहरू मात्र थिए। उदाहरणका लागि, एक अर्कासँग सम्बन्ध स्थापित गर्ने समस्या, रिसका कारण उत्पन्न हुने समस्या, झगडा र विवादका कारण हुने समस्या आदि। यी तपाईं र मैले मात्र सामना गरिरहेका कुनै नौलो समस्या होइनन्, यी त सदा सर्वदा सबैले भोगिरहेका समस्या हुन्। तर अहिले केही नयाँ समस्याहरू थपिएका छन्, जस्तो कि आर्थिक संकट, युद्ध, आदि। मानिसहरू यी समस्या धेरै भन्दा धेरै मात्रामा भोगिरहेका छन्, र तिनको समाधान भेटिरहेका छैनन्। तिनलाई व्यक्तिगत तवरमा, खासगरी भावनात्मक र मानसिक स्तरमा, कसरी सामना गर्ने थाहा पाइरहेका छैनन्। हाल जे उपाय उपलब्ध छ, त्यसले उनीहरूलाई ती समस्याबाट पार लगाउन सकेको छैन। तर अहिलेको समयको एक अभूतपूर्व प्रगति भनेको सञ्चार माध्यमको विकास हो। अहिलेको युगलाई हामी सूचनाको युग भन्छौं र सामाजिक सञ्जालको युग भन्छौं। यसको अर्थ हो, हामीसँग अनेक वैकल्पिक प्रणालीहरूबारे धेरै भन्दा धेरै सूचना उपलब्ध छ। परम पूजनीय दलाई लामा र अन्य कैयौं महान् बौद्ध अग्रणीहरू हालको युगमा हुनुहुन्छ, जो विश्वभर भ्रमण गरिराख्नु हुन्छ। उहाँहरूले आफूलाई त्यस्तो असाधारण स्तरमा विकसित गर्नुभएको छ कि आफ्नो देश नै गुमाउनु परेको लगायतका अत्यन्तै कठिन परिस्थितिमा पनि शान्त, स्थिर र मैत्रीपूर्ण चित्तका साथ रहन सक्नु हुन्छ। धेरै मानिसले यो सबै आफ्नै आँखाले प्रत्यक्ष देख्न पाएका छन्। एक सजीव व्यक्तिको जीवनबाट पाइने यस्तो प्रेरणा धेरै महत्त्वपूर्ण छ जुन इन्टरनेट तथा किताबहरूबाट मात्र पाइने जानकारीभन्दा बढी र अझै प्रभावकारी हुन्छ। मानिसहरू बुद्धधर्मप्रति आकर्षित भैरहेका छन्। यसको मुख्य कारण के हो भने उनीहरू आफूले सामना गर्नु परेका समस्याहरूको समाधान खोजिरहेका छन्, र यो आशामा हुन्छन् कि बुद्धधर्मले उनीहरूलाई जीवन जीउने उपाय बताउनेछ। तपाईंको समाजका लागि बुद्धधर्म बिल्कुलै नयाँ कुरा होस् वा जनमानसले परम्परागत रूपमा मानिरहेको प्रणाली होस्, दुवै अवस्थामा यही कुरा देखिन्छ। बुद्धधर्मको तार्किक पक्ष मानिसका समस्याहरूको समाधान प्रस्तुत गर्ने सन्दर्भमा बुद्धधर्मलाई राखेर हेर्दा हामी पाउँछौं कि यसका फरक फरक पक्षले फरक फरक मानिसहरूलाई आकर्षित गर्छन्। परम पूजनीय दलाई लामाले बुद्धधर्मको तार्किक, विश्लेषणात्मक र व्यावहारिक पक्षहरूमा विशेष जोड दिनुभएको छ। धेरै मानिसलाई यो तरीकाले आकर्षित गर्छ। उहाँ भन्नुहुन्छ, बुद्धधर्मको पद्धति भनेको आधुनिक विज्ञानको पद्धतिजस्तै हो। दुवै पद्धतिमा सिद्धान्तहरूलाई अन्ध आस्था र भक्तिको भरमा ग्रहण गरिँदैन। दुवैमा वैज्ञानिक विधिहरूको अवलम्बन गरिन्छ। यसमा हामी तर्क र बौद्धिकता, गहिरो विश्लेषण र आफैंले व्यवहारमा प्रयोग गरेर हेर्ने वैज्ञानिक विधिको उपयोग गर्छौं। बुद्धधर्मले सिकाएका विधिहरूलाई बुझेर र तिनलाई प्रयोग गरेर हेरेपछि हामी थाहा पाउँछौं कि ती विधिहरूले साँच्चिकै नतीजा दिन्छन् कि दिँदैनन्, हामीलाई चित्तको शान्ति प्रदान गर्छन् कि गर्दैनन्, र हामीलाई अझ उत्तम तरीकाले समस्याको सामना गर्न सक्ने बनाउँछन् कि बनाउँदैनन्। हामी आफ्नो तरीकामा एकदमै व्यावहारिक हुन्छौं। आदर्शवादी होइन, बरु यथार्थ र वास्तविकतामा आधारित भई व्यावहारिक पद्धति अपनाउँछौं र हामीलाई आफ्नो जीवनमा के चीज साँच्चिकै सहयोगी हुन्छ, त्यसै अनुसार व्यवहार गर्छौं। यसका अतिरिक्त पारम्परिक बौद्ध शिक्षामा केही त्यस्ता कुराहरू रहेछन् जो आधुनिक विज्ञानको दृष्टिमा गलत छन् वा विज्ञानको नयाँ खोजसँग मेल खाँदैनन् भने ती कुराहरूलाई बौद्ध शिक्षाबाट हटाउन दलाई लामा खुशीसाथ तयार हुनुहुन्छ। यसको एक उदाहरण ब्रह्माण्डको स्वरूपका बारेमा बौद्ध दृष्टि हुन सक्छ। उहाँका अनुसार बौद्ध शिक्षाका यस्ता पक्षलाई आधुनिक विज्ञानको खोजले विस्थापित गर्न मिल्छ, किनकि यी दुईबीच कुनै विरोधाभाष छैन। आखिर बुद्धको जोड यथार्थमा थियो, कल्पनामा होइन। बुद्ध हामीलाई भूगोलशास्त्र पढाउन आउनु भएको थिएन, बरु उहाँको उद्देश्य हामीलाई आफ्नो जीवनका समस्याहरू सुल्झाउने शिक्षा दिनु थियो। हामी बस्ने ग्रहको नाप कत्रो छ, पृथ्वीबाट सूर्य र चन्द्रमाको दूरी कति छ, बौद्ध शिक्षाका यस्ता परम्परागत कुराहरू पच्चीस सय वर्ष पहिलेका मानिसले जसरी बुझ्थे, त्यही अनुसारले प्रस्तुत गरिएका थिए। यो विषयका यस्ता पारम्परिक पाठहरू धेरै महत्त्वपूर्ण छैनन्, ती बुद्धधर्मको मुख्य शिक्षाका अंग होइनन्। बरु परम पूजनीय दलाई लामाले वैज्ञानिकहरूलाई पुनर्जन्म लगायतका शिक्षालाई गलत प्रमाणित गर्न चुनौती दिनु भएको छ, र भन्नु भएको छ कि यो विषयलाई “मलाई विश्वास लाग्दैन” भन्दै त्यत्तिकै पन्छाउन मिल्दैन। “मलाई विश्वास लाग्दैन” भन्नु कुनै चीजको अस्तित्वलाई गलत प्रमाणित गर्ने ठोस आधार होइन। पीडा नियन्त्रणमा धेरै हदसम्म सहयोग पुर्याउने कैयौं विधिहरू बुद्धधर्ममा छन्। पीडा आफैंमा अवाञ्छित छँदैछ, तर त्यसमा भय पनि थपियो र पीडाका कारण हुने भावनात्मक आवेगले भित्रैदेखि जकड्यो भने स्थिति झनै खराब हुन्छ। पीडाको अवस्थामा श्वासमा ध्यान केन्द्रित गर्ने विभिन्न विधि बुद्धधर्मले सिकाउँछ जसबाट पीडा कम गर्न धेरै नै सहयोग पुग्छ। यस सम्बन्धमा परीक्षणहरू पनि गरिएका छन्, र विभिन्न अस्पतालहरूमा यी विधिहरूको प्रयोग भएको छ। यी विधिहरूबाट लाभ लिनका लागि यिनलाई बुद्धधर्मको संरचनाभित्र राख्नु र त्यसै रूपमा मात्र प्रस्तुत गर्नु पर्दैन। यी विधिहरूको उपयोग गर्नका लागि मानिसहरूलाई यो वा त्यो तरीकाले कुनै न कुनै मात्रामा बुद्धधर्मको शिक्षा दिइराख्नु पनि पर्दैन। यी विधिहरू सार्वभौमिक रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्, जुन सबै धर्म र आस्थाका सबै मानिसहरूले उपयोगमा ल्याउन सक्छन्। तर यी विधिहरू निकालिएका त बुद्धधर्मबाटै हुन्, त्यसैले यसको अभ्यास गर्ने मानिसहरू बुद्धधर्मप्रति केही आकृष्ट हुनु र यसमा के रहेछ भनी अलि विस्तारमा जान्न खोज्नु स्वाभाविक हो। मार्सल आर्टको अभ्यास गर्ने मानिसहरूले पनि यस्तै खोजी गरेको हामीले पाएका छौं। मार्सल आर्टको विद्या बौद्ध देशहरूमा विकसित भएको हो, त्यसैले यसको अभ्यास गर्ने धेरै मानिसले यो विद्याको विकास भएको बौद्ध पृष्ठभूमिबारे जान्ने अभिरुचि देखाएका छन्। आध्यात्मिक गुरुहरूबाट प्राप्त हुने प्रेरणा तर कैयौं मानिसहरू त्यस्ता पनि छन् जसको मन धेरै तार्किक प्रवृत्तिको हुँदैन। उनीहरू जीवन एकदमै वैज्ञानिक पद्धति अनुसार चल्नुपर्छ भन्ने दृष्टिले सोच्दैनन्। त्यसैले उनीहरूलाई बुद्धधर्मको अन्य पक्षले आकर्षित गर्छ। यस्तो एक पक्षबारे थोरै संकेत मैले माथि महान् आध्यात्मिक गुरुहरूबाट प्राप्त हुने प्रेरणाको चर्चा गर्दा गरेको थिएँ। आजकल धेरै महान् आचार्यहरूले विश्वको भ्रमण गरिरहनु भएको छ, र उहाँहरूको शिक्षा पुस्तक र इन्टरनेटमा अडियो तथा भिडियो रेकर्डिङ्गको रूपमा उपलब्ध छ। यसबाट धार्मिक आस्थामा झुकाव राख्ने मानिसहरू ठूलो प्रेरणा प्राप्त गर्छन्। राजनीतिक वा आर्थिक वृत्तमा सुनिने वा भेटिने विभिन्न नेताहरूबाट निराश भएका धेरै मानिसको ध्यान यी बौद्ध आचार्यहरूतर्फ मोडिन्छ। यहाँ अरुतिर भन्दा शुद्ध पथप्रदर्शक पाइएला भन्ने ठूलो आशा उनीहरूको मनमा हुन्छ। तर अवश्य पनि, हामी यथार्थवादी हुनुपर्छ। बौद्ध पृष्ठभूमिबाट आएका सबै आध्यात्मिक शिक्षकहरू पूर्णतया शुद्ध हुँदैनन्। किनकि उनीहरू पनि हामीजस्तै मानवहरू नै हुन्। त्यसैले उनीहरूको पनि सबल पक्षहरू र निर्बल पक्षहरू दुवै हुन्छन्। तर उनीहरूमध्ये धेरै जना साँच्चिकै असाधारण छन्। त्यसैले मानिसहरू यस्ता आचार्यबाट ज्यादै प्रभावित हुन्छन्। यस्ता आचार्यहरूमा परम पूजनीय दलाई लामा अग्रणी हुनुहुन्छ। उहाँहरूलाई देख्दा कतिपय मानिसको मन मस्तिष्कमा यस्तो भावना आउँछः “म पनि यस्तै बन्न पाए हुन्थ्यो।” यी आचार्यहरूले हाम्रो सम्भाव्यता के हो र हामीमध्ये प्रत्येक व्यक्ति त्यो स्तरमा पुग्ने क्षमताले युक्त छौं भन्ने कुराको मानक प्रस्तुत गर्नुहुन्छ। दलाई लामा जस्ता उच्चस्तरका साधक सधैं भन्नुहुन्छ, “ममा त्यस्तो विशेष केही छैन।” बुद्धले पनि त्यसै भन्नुभएको थियो, “ममा त्यस्तो विशेष केही छैन। तपाईंहरू जस्तो हुनुहुन्छ मैले पनि त्यस्तै शुरु गरेको थिएँ। मसँग पनि त्यही साधन उपलब्ध थिए जुन तपाईंहरूसँग उपलब्ध छन् – चित्त, हृदय र अरुको ख्याल राख्ने आधारभूत मानव–मूल्य, आदि। र मैले यिनलाई विकसित गर्नका लागि धेरै कडा परिश्रम गरेको छु। यदि तपाईंले पनि कडा परिश्रम गर्नुभयो भने तपाईं पनि यसलाई विकसित गर्न सक्नु हुनेछ।” त्यसैले परम पूजनीय दलाई लामाजस्ता आध्यात्मिक आचार्य यो प्रयास गर्नुहुन्छ कि मानिसहरू उहाँलाई धेरै अग्लो पद र स्थान नदिऊन्। उहाँलाई अति पवित्र ठानेर व्यवहार नगरुन्, र यो नसोचुन् कि उहाँजस्तो बन्न वा उहाँको स्तरमा पुग्न असम्भव छ। यो कुराले ती मानिसहरूलाई एकदमै धेरै आकर्षित गर्छ जो धर्मप्रति बढी झुकाव राख्छन् र जीवनप्रति धेरै वैज्ञानिक दृष्टिकोण राख्दैनन्। बौद्ध अभ्यासको परम्परालाई पुनर्जीवन परम्परागत रूपमा बुद्धधर्मको अनुयायी रहेका कतिपय ठाउँमा विभिन्न कारणले बुद्धधर्मको अभ्यास गर्ने अवसर कम भैरहेको अवस्था छ। ती ठाउँहरूमा आधुनिक युगमा बुद्धधर्मप्रतिको नयाँ आकर्षणको कारण भनेको यसलाई पुनर्जीवित गर्ने उद्देश्य हो। यो एकदमै महत्वपूर्ण र जायज दृष्टिकोण हो किनकि जति जति हाम्रा सामु आधुनिकीकरणको चुनौती बढ्दै जान्छ, त्यत्ति नै आत्मविश्वास र आत्मसम्मानको भाव कायम राख्न आवश्यक हुन्छ। मानिलिऊँ हामीलाई बारम्बार यो भनिन्छ कि हाम्रा पूर्वजले मान्ने गरेका सबै चीज काम नलाग्ने थिए, र यदि हामी साँच्चिकै आधुनिक युगमा प्रवेश गर्न चाहन्छौं भने ती सबै कुरालाई बिर्सनु पर्छ। यो अवस्थामा हामी आफूलाई र आफ्ना पूर्वजलाई एकदम दीनहीन नजरले हेर्न थाल्छौं। हाम्रो मनमा यस्तो भाव आउँछ कि हामी त बिल्कुलै निकम्मा हौं, मूर्ख हौं। आफ्ना बारेमा यस्तो भावना आयो र हाम्रो भावनात्मक मान्यता यस्तो भयो भने हामीमा कुनै आत्मसम्मान वा आत्मविश्वास बाँकी रहने छैन। हामीसँग आफूप्रति गर्व गर्न सक्ने र आफ्नो विकास गर्न सक्ने कुनै आधार बाँकी रहने छैन। त्यसैले मलाई लाग्छ कि हामीले आफ्नो परम्परा र रीति–रिवाजहरूलाई सम्मान गर्नु र तिनलाई पुनर्जीवन दिनु आवश्यक छ ताकि हामीलाई आफ्नो उत्तरोत्तर विकास र आधुनिकीकरणका लागि एक भावनात्मक आधार प्राप्त होस्। तर हरेक परम्परामा केही सबल पक्षहरू हुन्छन् र केही दुर्बल पक्षहरू पनि हुन्छन्। कहिलेकाहीँ ती दुर्बल पक्षहरूको दुरुपयोग पनि गरिएको हुन सक्छ। यो अवस्थामा सबल पक्षहरूमा जोड दिनु महत्त्वपूर्ण हुन्छ। आधुनिक मनोविज्ञानको एक पद्धतिमा निष्ठाको सिद्धान्तमा धेरै जोड दिइएको छ। मानिसहरूमा आफ्नो परिवार, सम्प्रदाय, धर्म आदि कुनै न कुनै कुराप्रति निष्ठावान हुने प्रवृत्ति हुन्छ। निष्ठाको विकास पनि दुई प्रकारले हुन सक्छ। या त मानिस सकारात्मक गुणप्रति निष्ठावान हुन्छन्, या नकारात्मक गुणप्रति। उदाहरणका लागि, मानिलिऊँ कुनै परम्परामा अन्य परम्परालाई नसहने नकारात्मक प्रवृत्तिलाई प्रोत्साहित गरिन्छ। यदि त्यस्तो परम्परा मान्ने कुनै मानिसले त्यसलाई त्याग्यो भने पनि उसले अरुप्रति असहिष्णु हुने नकारात्मक प्रवृत्तिलाई लिइरहन्छ। त्यसैले आफूले त्यागेको परम्परालाई अरु कसैले मान्यो भने उ तिनीहरूप्रति पनि असहिष्णु हुन पुग्छ। यो नकारात्मक निष्ठा हो, गलत निष्ठा हो। अर्कोतर्फ, कसै कसैले चाहिँ आफ्नो परम्पराका सकारात्मक पक्षहरूमा जोड दिइरहन्छन्, तर साथै यसका नकारात्मक पक्षहरूलाई पनि नजरअन्दाज गर्दैनन्। यो तरीकाले निष्ठावान हुँदा चाहिँ कमी कमजोरीहरूप्रति आँखा चिम्लेर बसिँदैन, जसले गर्दा तिनलाई दोहोर्याउनबाट बचिन्छ। यो तरीका अपनाइने कारणले पनि बुद्धधर्मप्रतिको आकर्षणको बढेको हो। यसमा आफ्नो संस्कृति, पूर्वज र स्वयं आफैंप्रतिको आत्मसम्मानलाई पुनर्जीवन दिन र तिनलाई विकसित गर्न प्रोत्साहित गरिन्छ। बुद्धधर्मको रहस्यमय पक्ष एक अर्को प्रकारका मानिसहरूको समूह पनि छ जो आफ्ना कल्पनाहरूका कारण बुद्धधर्मप्रति आकर्षित हुन्छन्। उनीहरूको जीवनमा अनेक समस्या छन्, जसको समाधानका लागि उनीहरू कुनै जादुई, रहस्यात्मक तरीकाको खोजीमा हुन्छन्। विशेष गरी तिब्बती, मंगोलियन र काल्मिकी पद्धतिका बुद्धधर्ममा अनेक प्रकारका असाधारण कुराहरू भरिएका छन्। अनेक प्रकारका अनुहार, हात, खुट्टा भएका अनेकथरी देवी देवताहरू, अनेकथरी मन्त्रहरू, यस्ता विभिन्न कुराहरू त्यहाँ छन्। केही जादुई निर्देशनहरू पनि छन् – तिमीले फलानो मन्त्र दश लाख पल्ट जप गर्यौ भने तिम्रा सबै समस्याहरू छुमन्तर भएर हराउने छन्। फेरी ती दशथरीका हात खुट्टा भएका देवी देवताहरूमा पक्कै पनि कुनै अलौकिक कुरा होला। यस्तो कुराहरूप्रति आकर्षित भएर कुनै जादुई विधिको प्रयोगले खुशी प्राप्त हुन्छ भन्ने आशामा कतिपय मानिस बुद्धधर्ममा आउँछन्। ती मानिसहरूलाई यस्ता विधिहरूको अभ्यासले केही लाभ प्राप्त हुन सक्छ। (अवश्य पनि, यसमा कुनै शंका छैन कि यस्तो अविश्वसनीय र अव्यावहारिक दृष्टिकोणबाट बुद्धधर्मको अभ्यास गर्दा पनि केही लाभ हुन सक्छ।) तर परम पूजनीय दलाई लामाले सधैं यो कुरामा जोड दिनुहुन्छ कि यस्तो दृष्टिकोण सही अर्थमा यथार्थवादी दृष्टिकोण होइन। यसबाट केही लाभ हुन सक्छ, तर दीर्घकालमा यसबाट तपाईंलाई निराशा नै हात लाग्छ। किनकि, दुर्भाग्यवश हाम्रा समस्याहरूको जादुई समाधान हुँदैन। हामीलाई साँच्चिकै दीर्घकालीन रूपमा चित्तको शान्ति चाहिएको छ र हामी आफ्ना जीवनका समस्याहरूमाथि विजय प्राप्त गर्न चाहन्छौं भने हामीले आफ्नो व्यक्तित्वका त्यस्ता पक्षहरूको सामना गर्नैपर्ने हुन्छ जो हामीलाई मन पर्दैन र हामीलाई सहज लाग्दैन। हामीलाई आफ्नो रिस, स्वार्थीपना, लोभ, आसक्ति आदिको सामना गर्नुपर्छ र तिनबाट मुक्त हुनुपर्छ। यी व्यक्तिगत समस्याहरूलाई नजरअन्दाज गरेर केवल जादुई समाधान मात्र खोज्नु धेरै लाभदायक साबित हुनेवाला छैन। तैपनि कतिपय त्यस्ता मानिसहरू छन् जो यस्तो असाधारण कुराहरूले गर्दा नै बुद्धधर्मप्रति आकर्षित हुन्छन्। सारांश संक्षेपमा भन्नपर्दा, बुद्धधर्ममा त्यस्ता कैयौं पक्षहरू छन् जसले मानिसलाई आफूतर्फ आकर्षित गर्छन्। तर बुद्धधर्मप्रति उनीहरूको आकर्षणको मूल कारण जीवनका समस्याहरू र दुःखहरूबाट मुक्ति पाउने विधिहरू जान्न सकियोस् भन्ने भित्री कामना नै हो। तर जे कारणवश जीवनका समस्याहरूको सामना गर्न बुद्धधर्मप्रति आकर्षित भएको भए पनि एउटा कुरा निश्चित छ, बुद्धको शिक्षालाई सबैले मन पराउँछन् किनकि यसले हामीलाई आफ्ना समस्याहरूबाट निस्कने बाटो देखाउँछ। यो एक सजीव परम्परा हो, र यसमा दुइ हजार पाँच सय वर्षको अनुभव संग्रहित छ। मानिसहरू यसको अभ्यास गर्छन्, र यसबाट लाभ प्राप्त गर्छन्। यसका विधिहरू सबैका लागि उपलब्ध छन्, हामीले तिनको उपयोग मात्र गर्नुछ। एक मात्र होइन, अनेक अनेक विधिहरू छन्। बुद्धले यो बोधका साथ विभिन्न विधिहरू सिकाउनु भयो कि हरेक मानिस एक भिन्नै व्यक्ति हो र उसका लागि भिन्नै विधि उपयोगी हुन सक्छ। धेरै मानिसका लागि यो एकदमै अद्भूत कुरा हुन सक्छ। बुद्धधर्मले सिकाउने विविध तरीकाहरूलाई मानिसले रेष्टुरेन्टमा उपलब्ध खानाको लामो सूचीसँग तुलना गर्न सक्छन्, जसबाट आफूलाई उपयोगी हुने तरीका लिन सकियोस्। एउटा उपायले काम गरेन भने अन्य धेरै उपाय उपलब्ध छन्। हालको सूचनाको युगमा हामी संसारको जुनसुकै कुनामा बस्ने भए पनि यी अनेक उपलब्ध विधिहरूको उपयोग गर्न सक्छौं।