Teaching: Day 1 – Victory

Or, at least “survival” (I won’t put up the big “Mission Accomplished” banner just yet).

Syllabi weren’t a big issue – 1500 copies in less than an hour, stapled (saved by technology). I found the video that we were supposed to watch, previewed it, and managed to get it to class. Durring the lecture all went well enough. It was simple stuff: who am I? What is the class about? What is the schedule? etc. Of course that was after I had to have tech-support summoned because I couldn’t figure out the computer system (it’s a touch-screen, you have to touch it… ’till then the mouse and keyboard are deactivated and everything else is behind locked doors).

I let them know I was a bit nervous. I told them that I went to the market and was delighted to find “Zen Tea” – (which I brough with me) with a label which promises “To energize the body, uplift the spirit and enlighten the mind.” They found that cute; one asked if it was working. I reminded him of my ‘technical’ difficulties and said, “I don’t think so.” But I said this is an aspect of Buddhism we’ll get to later in the course, namely Buddhism in America today. Will it become a clothing label or a soft drink sales pitch – or will it maintain vitality and change some of the fundamental structures of American Society (individualism, consumerism, etc.)?

Then I showed a picture of the Dalai Lama: (see lecture slides) and read them a quote about the Dalai Lama I found in the New York Times, calling him a ‘religious leader, head of state, pop icon, multimedia phenomenon and ascetic Buddhist superstar.’ (see here) — But this is not how traditional Tibetans see the Dalai Lama, whom they more commonly refer to as simply Kundon (the All-Purposeful One) or ‘Yishin Norbu’ (the Wish-fulfilling Gem), or ‘Gyalwa Rinpoche’ (the Precious Adept). So just who is the Dalai Lama? This is another topic we’ll discuss later in the class.

All in all I’m satisfied – tired – and ready to get to work on our next class…