“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is the temple; the philosophy is kindness.” – The Dalai Lama
But here is the big question that I struggle with in my ENEMIES work….
When kindness fails, and a people are oppressed for generations, what is the right path?
I met many Tibetan people who also struggle with this question. And in Kashmir, a land that is occupied by the country freed from oppression under the leadership of M. Ghandi, the people have a vast range of opinions about the question of how to respond to generations of oppression. This is not a simple question.
(Yak butter candles at the Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamsala, India)
These are all pieces of the same issue – how do we deal with conflict? There is a huge amount to talk about here. I’m putting some of my thoughts into visual work, which I’ll post more of as time goes on. I’m giving my first TEDx talk next weekend in San Antonio on October 12th, but it will only cover some basic thoughts of my experiences with all this. Today I’m applying for a TEDx in Kabul, a place I have been considering going this winter for ENEMIES.
More of my visual work coming soon…