Posted Feb 16, 2002 by pikachurinpoche
The Great Thirteenth was the very first Dalai Lama to know the world. The rest were insulated.
What did he see? Hell. The last days. The darkest time in an era, that time directly preceeding a Buddha.
When the Great Thirteenth died, he did so with informed knowledge of the conditions on Earth.
The Greath Thirteenth also witnessed technology blossoming. He may have taken advantage of the upcoming opportunities, enabling his next incarnation's awakening.
Very nice work.
Still, Pika
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Posted Feb 16, 2002 by John the gardener says, "Free Tibet!"
Thanks, Pika.
It's hard to encapsulate what makes a great person great. But I think a part of the greatness of the Great Thirteenth was that He saw the worst of what the modern age represented, but chose to embrace modernity and place Tibet in the community of nations. That much of His work was undone by the Chinese invasion is a tragedy that we are yet to fully appreciate. Imagine a century in which the Tibetans had been allowed to flourish in a world emerging from the grief and destruction of war. It's not hard to see ourselves as a kinder, more compassionate community at the start of the new millennium.
Many believe that the Great Thirteenth chose to die when He did in order that the current Dalai Lama would be of an age to meet the challenge of the Chinese onslaught. Who's to say that the destruction in Tibet, Tragic though it is in our own epoch, might not be a necessary vehicle for the dissemination of the seed of a new, more humane era. The rise and fall of all nations, including the PRC, takes no more than the blink of an eye. The Chinese Communists, in their ignorance and greed, have scattered Dharma in the land of Arhats and in Guru Rinpoche's 'land of the red man'. Who's to say what great work may be in motion here?
Not me. 
JTG
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