Seven Years In Vietnam Essay

750 Words3 Pages
Over the course of time, man has depended on the use of the wheel for guiding a vehicle, providing energy from a moving stream, and moving and carrying the burden of heavy loads. Since the wheel is a necessity to life, it’s understandable that Buddhism is also centered around the object that has helped mankind grow and develop. The wheel in Buddhism is designed around the Eightfold Path: right understanding, awareness, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and concentration. In the film, Seven Years in Tibet, these eight Buddhist concepts influence the cultural, spiritual, and relational development of Heinrich Harrer and the Dalai Lama. Buddhism completely changed Heinrich Harrer’s attitude towards life. When he found out his wife…show more content…
being exposed to the religion his whole life, the Dalai Lama was peaceful and sacrificial. Whenever he was stressed or worried, such as before the Chinese occupation, he turned to his scriptures, which resulted in the Dalai Lama not worrying if the problem couldn’t be solved. Also, even though he was the political and spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was willing to sit on equal levels with the Chinese leader. As much as Buddhism positively impacted the Dalai Lama, it also restricted him. He was very sheltered in his relations with others. The only way he knew of what was happening outside of his palace was by sneaking onto the roof to glance in his telescope. Also, the Dalai Lama never saw a foreigner before Heinrich, whom he called “Yellow Hair” and asked to see if he had hair on his arms and legs. His wordly unawareness was even more emphasized by the fact that Heinrich spent countless hours answering numerous questions the Dalai Lama had about ideas commonly known today, such as why there are different time zones and the names of classic songs. In addition, the Dalai Lama was extremely limited in war experience. After rumors of Chinese invasion, he had a vivid nightmare of violence and shootings; he told Heinrich that he didn’t know his brain could come up with such horrible images. Since Buddhists stressed peace and contentment, the leader was never prepared for acts of war. The Dalai Lama’s life was composed of the effects of
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