Donald S. Lopez Jr.: evaluation

Transcript context

…But is there something in the doctrine that makes it harder to attach to, say, autocracies, which are common around the world? Or do you think it’s just an accident? I think it’s mostly an accident. Buddhist monks have done quite well with kings. The idea is that Buddhist monks keep their vows, and by doing that, kingdoms are saved from famine, they’re saved from disease, they’re saved from foreign invasion. That hasn’t worked, so that patronage has disappeared, and because of that, the support for the monastic institution has declined sharply. If I think of the Dalai Lama, who’s quite prominent in the West, from what I know, he’s named by, what? A Mongolian ruler hundreds of years ago. Dalai Lamas — they’re typically commonly involved in politics. What exactly makes the Dalai Lama legitimate, and to whom? Where does that come from?…

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