The Dalai Lama Just Loves Watches
The Dalai Lama just loves watches
Published: Saturday July 17, 2010 MYT 5:44:00 PM
DHARAMSALA: The Dalai Lama’s commitment to the Tibetan cause can only be described as timeless. So, is the 75-year-old spiritual leader’s penchant for watches.
When he was seven, the Dalai Lama received his first watch a gold Rolex – from none other than former United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Roosevelt sent the gift to the Dalai Lama in 1942, as a symbol of gesture to secure relations with Tibet.
“I just like watches. I have 15 watches now, they are mostly gifts. My first watch was given to me by President (Franklin) Roosevelt.
“I like watches, I don’t know why. Maybe, because I am a reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.
“I was told (that) he was fond of pocket-watches, rosaries and horses, but I am afraid of horses,” he burst out laughing, in his regular banter during an interview at his headquarters in Dharamsala, the power-base of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
Perhaps, the most interviewed and photographed monk, often draped in his usual maroon and orange robes, he leads a monastic life with his staunch followers in the main temple of McLeod Ganj in Dharamsala.
He considers himself a Marxist.
The Dalai Lama was born Tenzin Gyatso in northeast of Tibet to a peasant family and is believed to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.
He fled to India in 1959, when Chinese troops entered Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, to quell a national uprising, and he ended up in Dharamsala, northern state of Himachal Pradesh.
Eventually, Dharamsala became home for the exiled spiritual leader and thousands of escaping Tibetans over the past 50 years from where he champions the Tibetan cause.
Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/17/nation/20100717175043&sec=nation
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Wonderful ……. a beautiful moment and precious gift HH Dalai Lama received his first watch in 1943 from an envoy of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . The first watch he received was a gold Rolex. HH Dalai Lama loved watches as collections. Not only one but 15 beautiful watches to date in the nineties. . The Dalai Lama seems particularly fond of is Rolex brand . HH Dalai Lama’s interest in timepieces because of his curiosity and admiration for the art of watchmaking, and enjoys dismantling and rebuilding things. That’s great at his age .
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
time ?
The first watch given to the Dalal Lama was President (Franklin) Roosevelt. Maybe the President is trying to tell Dalal Lama that time will not stop. Incarnation will go on and on like time. I have a relative who likes to keep clocks instead of watches. Actually there is no difference between a clock or watch as both show the time also. This relative like Dalal Lama collects her clocks from as young as 10 years old. She collects small little clocks which then increase into Big Ben clocks when she grew older. And now she is a grand mother she is still collecting clocks filling every part of her house. She takes the trouble to wind up all the clocks. And when the clocks chime the whole house will be full of chimes of different clocks. She loves to listen to the chimes but her children loathes it and will have to tolerate. Maybe it is the habit from past life for the grandmother.
His Holiness the Dalai lama,
has done so much for the elevation of Buddhism all over the developed world. through his talks , through his works , through his books, his work made it much easier for many buddhist traditions to establish themselves all over the world. I rejoice in this great master. May he live long and come back over and over again to turn the wheel of dharma for migrators blinded by their delusions.
is this not inevitable is there a rule that will not allow this grace return ? dear teacher
Time is a useful measurement of change and growth as well as to help remind us what to do next. In the scriptures, it is said that we are all time travellers. We are the products of our past lives. How we live now will prepare us for our future lives.Ethan, Andrew, time is indeed precious in the context of our present situation – being born in this world with excellent conditions to attain the highest possible state of being – a Buddha.Time goes on forever, but the excellent conditions for us to practice now, may not come again.
The most interviewed and photographed monk, often draped in his usual maroon and orange robes, he leads a monastic life with his staunch followers in the main temple.
I like watches. Vacheron Constantin, most expensive, precise and beautiful.
is not everyone involved in the watch industry important, i wonder where all the components and inspiration came from for such and intiguing device , my self when the sun comes up i gotta work when it goes down i gotta eat and in between that the longer i can stay awake the better
I like watches too!
Interesting insight Ethan! Life indeed is precious as the moment we are born we are one minute closer to the time we die. Such is the intrinsic perception of time and hence we should all get off our rear ends and do something with our lives. And how better a way than a Dharmic way.
Now if I could just find some solvent for the super glue that is on MY rear end! hehehe!
To add, I love that the star onine is publishing articles of such nature as it brings Buddhism into a more realistic nature and not one of a long forgotten “religion” in the mountains. Gives it indirect relevance and which will spark interest and intrigue which is important in this day and age.
Rosaries? I love rosaries very much. ^^
This is interesting… Never occur to me that H.H Dalai Lama is into collection of watches. From young, I always think that men who are into watches are always well aware of time, always discipline, and cherish life a lot because they understand time is precious. I don’t know if it is relevant, I just have a feeling that they should be… hehe…
Many also strive to get that big heavy valuable rolex but not all is capable of keeping track of time, hence lack of discipline result in lateness if worse, it is just a show off…
Knowing the value of one is far more important than wanting one… Time is precious.
Knowing the value of time since young is precious… I guess that is the reason why H.H Dalai Lama received his first rolex at such young age while I was still playing He-man and She-ra!
is time a slave to you or you to it, or is it bigger ?
is it important what some human on earth owns or does not own and which one is bigger , is big best ? only you have the answers for us all