Reflection prompt #24

On dealing with regret and sorrow in the aftermath of a conflict

An elderly monk visited the Dalai Lama and asked about doing some yogic exercises that he found very difficult to do at his advanced age. The Dalai Lama advised him against doing them, telling the monk he thought he was too old for those exercises. The monk seemed to take it well and left.

Then the Dalai Lama heard the monk had committed suicide. The monk believed he’d be reborn in a younger body and be able to do the essential yogic exercises.

Years later, when an interviewer asked the Dalai Lama if he felt bad about anything he’d done in his life, the Dalai Lama talked about the elderly monk. American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön described the exchange between the interviewer and the Dalai Lama: