Living in San Francisco for the last ten years, my exposure to Buddhism has been unavoidable. One of my most memorable stories is about the woman asking to cut in line at the grocery store because she was late to her meditation class. Interactions like these make me wonder if Buddhism and the principles of a consumer society can ever be resolved harmoniously.
To be fair, I’m not very different than the woman rushing to meditate. I’m just another anxiety-driven machine, buzzing around the city attempting to achieve an infinite number of tasks. Each day, stress wakes me up in the morning and yet keeps me awake at night. I can sympathize with the desperation to find inner peace.
In mid-2005, I discovered some mp3 files of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, read by the actor B.D. Wong. The Dalai Lama’s calm reasoning and B. D. Wong’s warm, reassuring voice immediately shifted my mood:
If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it.
If you cannot do anything, then—also—there is no need to worry.
By December 2005, I was worrying. I had been listening to the recordings before I went to sleep each night, and they had inspired me to commit my time, energy, and resources to help someone besides myself. I decided to experiment with the idea that if I helped other people, I’d feel better about myself, and feeling better about myself would make it easier to help others. I scoured volunteer and job postings on the Internet trying to find something that I could do.
One evening, feeling particularly despondent, I came across a job titled “Videotape the Dalai Lama.” I applied immediately. A few days later, I received a response:
You recently expressed interest in volunteering your media production skills to help the Tibetan people preserve their culture and I would like to invite you to submit an application for further consideration…
Then, a month later, after several more email exchanges and telephone calls:
Hallow,
this is Lobsang from Dharamsala in India. Mark told me that you accepted to be volunteer during three months that is very great for us. So I would like to say thanks for your kindness.
My flight for Delhi, India, departs on March 9!