I wanted to comment on something I saw earlier but was deleted: an image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Prince Charles. I cannot recall the post completely (I was at work when I saw it), but I thought it raised an interesting question. As I am an inquirer, I cannot assume what I am about to say is in line with Buddhist thought -- I am still very limited in that regard. But my thoughts were this: The degree of celebrity does impose a unique suffering on the individual. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has experienced unique suffering due to the conditions in which he was born and the celebrity that was imposed upon him by world-wide recognition. I think that the suffering of the average or even destitute person is no less or greater than that of another; what I mean to say is that each of our sufferings is unique and personal -- we cannot take on the suffering of another, nor realize the totality of it, nor can we judge which kind is greater than another because of the lives into which we were born. The suffering from someone who has celebrity (i.e. world-wide recognition/responsibility) is particular to that person; it differs from that of the middle class, third world, or ill person, but is no more or less a suffering. I think the uniqueness of celebrity would increase the risk of falling into pride, thus clouding the individual from recognizing their suffering. I dont believe it is wrong to ponder such questions as was posted before; confrontation with unpopular thought helps, I believe, us to confront our own preconceptions about another individual and thus allows us to become more compassionate. I do apologize in advance if I have proposed anything which is scandalous or offensive to anyone, however; that certainly is not my intent.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 23:33:32 +0000