A change of pace for director Martin Scorsese, this biopic about the life of the Dalai Lama was filmed with a cast of unknowns in Morocco when film crews were forbidden to enter Tibet. The Lama's escape during the Chinese invasion, meetings with Chairman Mao and eventual exile in India are vividly depicted with Oscar-nominated cinematography (by Roger Deakins), music (by Philip Glass), costumes and art direction.

I'm offering something a little different in the seekers guide this month. Since this film is about the life of the Dalai Lama, it seemed silly to ask my usual question, "what's in it for us"! It's the Dalai Llama!  So, instead of "what's in it for us?” I'm sharing a piece of what was in it for me after watching this film. Below is a conversation following a discussion about these lines delivered on screen by the Dalai Lama as a young boy.

First, one understands that he causes much of his own suffering needlessly.
Second, he looks for the reasons for this in his own life.
To look is to have confidence in one's own ability to end the suffering.
Finally, a wish arises to find the path to peace,
For all beings desire happiness,
All wish to find their purest self.

If you are short on time, I simply recommend renting and watching Kundun when you can. Thank you for subscribing to The Seekers Guide, and remember, you are what you watch!

If you have a few minutes you may appreciate this conversation between me and my good friend , Seloge.   (edited for brevity.)

Mark: For me, the suffering that is being referred to here, is when our reality doesn't match our expectations. Caused when the actions we take in our life, don't give us the results we had hoped for.

Seloge: Can you give me an example of that....the difference between values and principles?

Mark: Sure. ...Let's say that you don't value life, and you choose to step off the roof of a 20 story building. Halfway down, you change your mind and decide that you do value life after all. Changing your values does not change the outcome once the action is taken. The outcome is now in the hands of a principal. Gravity!

Mark: OK.  Where shall we start?

Seloge:  We were talking about taking responsibility for our realities, so, let's agree on a definition of reality and then explore the nature of it according to that definition and see what we come up with.  But first let’s remember the rule for identifying a principle.

Mark: It is a principle, when it is for everyone all the time. Like gravity, it is what it is. Period!

Seloge: Alright,  I’ll let you pose a question about reality. 

Mark:  Why is everybody's reality different?

Seloge:  Good question. Let's take some guidance from our friend Einstein, who has already given this a bit of thought! He said the most important question that anyone can ask himself is "do I live in a hostile universe or do I live in a friendly universe?  What ever answer you choose is what you will experience. Can you think of two different people whose very suggest which answer they chose, that if you ask them about their reality, their description would match their choice?   

Mark: Definitely!

Seloge: Great, so can I. Here we go then.  So, for the sake of this discussion, we accept Einstein’s assertion that reality, as we each see it, represents the way we choose to look at the world.

Mark: Right! It is a matter of perspective. …I lost my train of thought. What are we doing again?

Seloge: We are digging in to the nature of reality to try and find a subtle principal governing the outcome of our lives.

Mark: Right. Have we found a principal in the idea of perspective?

Seloge: We've agreed that reality is a matter of perspective, which results in an interpretation.  Is that interpretation the same for everyone?

Mark: No,

Seloge: Let's identify what common mechanism is responsible for our perspectives?

Mark: That's an easy one, the mind, because we each have one.

Seloge: Agreed. So what precisely is the mind?

Mark: The mind is the delivery system for our perspective, which we use to describe our reality. 

Seloge: I agree, but how does it do that? What is the content of the mind?

Mark: The content of the mind is memory.

Seloge: Yes, and we have that in common, but are our memories the same?

Mark: I think it is safe to say no. If two people witness the same event and describe it in completely different ways, as experienced by crime scene investigators, then memory is not an exact recording of any given moment.

Seloge: That is a good analogy but I think it's important to note that both of those witnesses are likely to believe that their description is an accurate account of what they witnessed.

Mark: You are right, and they’d probably be willing to argue about it given the chance, and that's even more important than the fact that their descriptions were different! Good point, thank you.

Seloge: No problem, were in this together.  Now, what about the effects of past memories on the experience of a current event and therefore the memory of that event?

Mark: I'd say that past memories will definitely affect the way we experience and then store new memories of any particular event. That could explain the difference in the crime scene witness accounts as well as their firm belief in their own account.  

Seloge:  So, do we agree that the content of the individual mind is inexact and has a profound effect on the interpretation of any new event and therefore the memory of it?

Mark: I will agree to that.  I'd like to rephrase though, tell me what you think of this.   The mind is an inexact record of the past which exerts its influence on the interpretation of the present. We each call that reality, which is really just a single interpretation.

Seloge: Beautiful! I like that a lot. Now were really getting somewhere. For the sake of our search for a principal, we have now settled on definitions of two important factors, the mind and reality. Isn’t it interesting how seeking this common ground of definitions first, gives us a solid footing for moving toward higher grounds of discovery together?

Mark: It is! I am thankful for getting to share these kinds of conversations with you. It helps me a lot to challenge and broaden my own understanding of things.

Seloge: It is a gift we give to ourselves and to each other! We are getting closer to our life governing principal. Where shall we look next?

Mark:  If the interpretation of reality is a product of the mind, then let's look at the mind for the source of a principal.

Seloge:  Remember, we're looking for something that is, what it is, for everyone. …So far, the mind itself is the only thing we've described, that we each possess, that is the same in some way for all of us. 

Mark: In what way is it the same for all of us? It seems like we've been pointing out a lack of agreement from mind to mind.

Seloge: That's it! You just said it! Remember were looking at the nature of the mind as a device.  What quality would you ascribe to a group of physically like devices that all render a different result?

Mark:  I would say diverse.

Seloge: Perhaps, but doesn’t the existence of diversity require something that allows for it?

Mark: Yes. Maybe that’s what were looking for. ………openness? …..No, scratch that.

Seloge: How about, uncertainty. 

Mark: Ooo.  Uncertainty!

Seloge: Think about that for moment.  Every mind has its own unique memory and each mind's interpretation of reality is an abstract of its memory. 

Mark: Right, and If you look at the infinite diversity of all those interpretations, and ask what makes that possible, a good answer would be uncertainty. ….Though I'm not entirely certain of that!

Seloge: Good, you shouldn't be yet. We haven't taken it far enough. We haven't gotten to the source!  So what could it mean that the mind, all minds, by their very nature have a common quality called uncertainty?

Mark: Well let's see, if the nature of all minds is uncertainty, then they are supposed to be that way. ...because there is a supreme organized intelligence behind the creation of the universe.  The mind is uncertain by design.  

Seloge: Don't stop there my friend, what is implied that the mind must be that way by design?

Mark: hmm...Well, if it is that way by design then it must have a purpose. And if this perfectly designed mind is the tool we use to define our own reality, then the purpose of uncertainty is to allow us to perceive unlimited choices rather than the limited choices that are represented by our own certainty!

Seloge: Very good, but may I say that the idea of purpose doesn't quite feel right to me. The idea of purpose can be limiting. Try it again without purpose and see what you come up with. 

 Mark: OK, I can see that for sure. hmmm if the nature of the mind is uncertainty. ...The mind is a tool with which we create our own reality.…the mind is a product of the intelligence that creates the universe. …the universe is uncertain, because it’s infinite! ….  So since uncertainty is responsible for the infinite possibilities of the universe then it could also responsible for infinite possibilities to exist for ourselves. …....or not if we are to certain of things! ......Minds are a reflection of its source, the universal.  ...Since we are human and subject to the influence of physical memory, we can be unaware of this principal, called uncertainty, which allows for any reality that we want. Wow, look at that! It passes the test. It is what it is for everyone. The difference is whether or not we embrace that principal, and give ourselves more choices!   

Seloge: That sounds pretty good to me. I choose to believe that, for that simple reason. It gives me options. It's remarkable isn't it, culture conditions us to thirst for the very thing that limits and defines our individual realities!  We have come to need the validation of knowing and of being perceived by others as knowledgeable, and it is the certainty of that knowledge that limits the possibilities!

Mark: That it is remarkable. It is those same personal certainties that are held so tightly as to divide us one from another in sometimes violent conflict. Hmm, and all of this is going on in minds that were designed to have varying opinions. The face of creation is diversity.  The strength of all life lies in diversity and diversity is the product of uncertainty.  To embrace that nature of my mind is to think like the intelligence that creates the universe.

Seloge:   Well spoken my friend!  We did it didn't we? We identified a life governing principal!  How can we put it simply?

Seloge: how about, uncertainty is the principle that allows for infinite possibilities.

Mark: Man, am I glad we got that all worked out!

Mark: My reality wants some tea and a snack.

Seloge: Mine wants a cigarette.

Mark: What? You don't smoke!

Seloge: What if I did?  Would that change your perception of me?

Mark: Yes.  I mean no, well yes. Come on Seloge that's not fair. I mean, smoking wouldn't improve our chances of doing this again.

Seloge: So if I died today, you would regret the loss of times we never shared?

Mark: I can't say how I would feel.  You didn't die today. And you probably won't.

Seloge: Are you saying there is uncertainty?

Mark: Of course.

Seloge: think of all the possibilities then, would you focus on what we didn't share or be grateful for what we did?

Mark: you're right! ......Pat, I'll take uncertainty for 500 please.

Seloge: It's Alex.

Mark: what do you mean?

Seloge: Pat is wheel of Fortune. Alex is Jeopardy.

Mark: Right. Can you tell I'm not a big fan?

Seloge: I still accept you.

Mark: Thanks, that’s very big of you!

Mark: You don't really smoke right?

Seloge: no, I was just playing with you.

Mark: Do you ever quit?

Seloge: What do you mean by quit?

Mark: Here we go again.

If your interested in the practicality of voice-recognition technology, the production of The Seekers Guide To Great Movies depends upon it.  I keep a pocket sized ICD-ST10 Sony digital recorder by my side to record my thoughts and impressions when I watch a film which aid me in writing the guide each month.  My portion of this conversation was transcribed automatically by voice to Print software Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 7. The words of Seloge were transcribed in by hand from the recording.

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