Karma and The Dalai Lama

Back in the day, 2002 to be exact, I attended an Astrology Summer School organised by the Faculty of Astrological Studies at Brasenose College, Oxford, in the UK.

In one particular lecture, the speaker displayed a chart on the board and asked, “Who is this?”

Someone guessed “Saddam?” — No it wasn’t Saddam.

Someone else said “Gadafi?” — Nope, try again.

I said “is it Yassar Arafat?” no, not Arafat.

“Well come on, who is it then?” We asked.

The lecturer replied, “it’s the Dalai Lama”. A gasp of disbelief reverberated around the room.

“But why is his chart so awful, so difficult,” one of the students asked.

The answer was that he could only attain enlightenment through struggles and difficulties. He chose a very difficult path to rise above it, to give love in exchange for hate and seek enlightenment.

That was powerful!

The Dalai Lama in Exile

The Dalai Lama is Tibet’s leading political and spiritual leader, who was forced to leave his homeland in 1959 due to the unrest caused by the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949.

Who is the Dalai Lama?

He is very important to Tibetan society, he is revered as the supreme leader of Tibet, as he is believed to embody the ideals of Buddhism that govern Tibetan society. The Chinese occupation of Tibet and their aggressive and hostile actions have made it a dangerous place for the Dalai Lama.

The Chinese invasion has had a dramatic impact on Tibet’s society, it has led to the death of over one million Tibetans and the destruction of land and sacred sites — Extract from Bartleby.com

The Passing of a Pioneer in the field of psychology

This week, Dr Aaron T Beck, a pioneer in the field of psychology and father of cognitive therapy, has died aged 100 on 1 November 2021 (All Saints Day).

He engaged in public and private dialogues with the Dalai Lama and together they concluded that his work on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and Buddhism have much in common.

His work revolutionised the diagnosis and treatment of depression and other psychological disorders by prompting patients to focus on distortions in their day-to-day thinking, rather than on conflicts buried in childhood. He touted the idea with an anti-Freudian maxim: “There’s more to the surface than meets the eye.”

Some psychologists called his method superficial and little more than a morale booster, but it became required training for psychiatry residents and has been used to treat bulimia, panic attacks, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and drug abuse.

The Karmic path revealed

The Dalai Lama’s karma is revealed by Saturn in Pisces in his chart. What’s more, Neptune rules Pisces, His Holiness has Moon conjunct Neptune in Virgo. This Saturn placement points to his destiny as a spiritual role model in this lifetime, especially since Saturn is placed in the 9th house of religion.

Strengthening his faith and empathy is a grand water-trine involving the Sun in Cancer, Jupiter in Scorpio, and Saturn in Pisces. This is why he has the ability to endear himself (and his cause) to so many people around the world. It is also why his is a universal symbol of compassion.

Saturn is the school of hard knocks. We could envision Saturn Pisces feeling not-of-this-world, or having a super hard time dealing with life. They are the ones that drift and flounder and are evicted because they forget to pay their rent. (The Dalai Lama was evicted because of the violence, from his Homeland)

They can have a real self-destructive streak that their friends find hard to understand. And with Pisces/Twelfth House issues, it’s often others that see what we ourselves don’t! They often play out a public tragedy.

Having lived as untouchable themselves, they then become an advocate for others. They know what it’s like to be the underdog, and bring that to all they do.

Give peace a chance

In 2008 the transiting Saturn opposed the Dalai Lama’s own Saturn and put additional pressure on him to speak out against the rising violence.

It was also testing his Buddhist belief that peace is the only way forward. Transiting Saturn was an especially potent force in his chart through October 2008. In March 2008, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made a Statement on the Forty-Ninth Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day. Copyright prevents me from quoting any part of this statement. The speech can be found at https://www.dalailama.com/messages/tibet/10th-march-archive/2008

In closing

The Dalai Lama has said that Tibetans need to view their Chinese rulers as neighbours, not as enemies. Interestingly, more and more Chinese are embracing Buddhism, so perhaps this coming together of cultures will eventually result in a harmonious resolution for all involved.

Thank you for reading to the end. If you liked the story please consider leaving a Heart ❤

Sources: Wikipedia; californiapsychics.com; Star4Cast.com/astrology-of-todays-news (4 November 2021)