"The Dalai Lama was discharged Monday from the hospital where he has been undergoing tests for abdominal discomfort, the Tibetan spiritual leader's spokesman said.

"The Dalai Lama walked out of the hospital smiling and waving to photographers before being taken to a suburban hotel. [...]  He is in good condition but doctors have advised him to rest as much as possible..."

"MUMBAI, India (AP) -- The Dalai Lama will leave hospital on Monday after undergoing tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said.

"He declined comment on the outcome of the medical tests.

"The Dalai Lama, 73, flew to Mumbai, India's financial capital, on Thursday and was admitted to Lilavati Hospital with what his advisers said was exhaustion [...]"

... and thanks to Kevin D., who notes that BoingBoing is now linking to Buddhadharma's interview with His Holiness's brother. Check that (and follow the links to the article on Buddhadharma's site) here.

Breaking:
NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, was admitted to a hospital in India with "abdominal discomfort" but there was no cause for concern, doctors said on Thursday.

More here.

And in a Democratic National Convention update, Cheryl Crow, who's performing there now before Obama's Big Speech, just (7:50 pm EDT) introduced her song "Out of Our Heads" as being inspired by the Dalai Lama and his talk about compassion. Cool.

Not exactly the best matching that the SPY guys ever worked up, but we include it here in the interest of being thorough. And also because SPY, even when it wasn't so great, was better than most magazines could ever hope to be.

Because of that, The Worst Horse has taken up the mantle of matching famous dharmic figures with famous figures from other realms.

You can see our "Separated at Re-Birth?" collections here and here. You'll also find a few newer ones by selecting "separated at re-birth?" as a category in the "Browse by Category" panel in the panel on the side of this page.

It depicts Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, and George Bush (the "Ding Dong"), each decked out in the muu-muu that Zippy himself made famous.

You can see it (and other stuff) here.

Here's the story - via BoingBoing (via Free Tibet 2008).

And here's more, via Gawker.

Thanks to Kin for the tip(s).

So, CNN’s Special Investigation, “Buddha’s Warriors,” debuted last night. It was a mixed affair.

Yes, reporter Christiane Amanpour traveled and talked with the Dalai Lama, and with a host of young Tibetan and Burmese monks as well. And the program’s structure -- which took Amanpour from Dharamsala, India to Burma, to Tibet -- allowed for a sweeping look at the practice of Dharma in its most politically charged hotspots. Perhaps that’s only fitting given the report’s title. But as a (non-Buddhist) friend who sat and watched the show with me last night said, “I can’t imagine how you’d learn anything about Buddhism from this, unless you knew nothing at all.”

And that’s a shame. Indeed, I first heard about the program from my father, who told me he’d just seen a promo on CNN or MSNBC for what looked to him like a “Buddhism 101” special. I figured it must have been MSNBC, as they like to do “101” (intro-style) programming, and thought: Excellent! That’s just what’s most needed. After all, too many people are without a working understanding Buddhism. I mean, not even Buddhists understand Buddhism sometimes (myself included, of course).

Instead, the show was mostly political, underscoring the violence and oppression that Tibetan and Burmese Buddhists have so long been facing -- not that that’s not needed. But Buddhism itself was oversimplified, presented repeatedly as a religion of “love” and “nonviolence.” Sure, that’s true -- but what does it really mean? And besides, even the most greenhorn of practitioners can recognize that Buddhism is also about a lot more. When the Dalai Lama says that love is his religion, it’s an effective (albeit bumper-stickery) easy-entry slogan. But he and others are also capable of rendering deeper levels of the Dharma immediately understandable. Five minutes of “101” from the Dharma’s most recognizable “professors” might have gone a long way to better educate those masses who can barely tell a Buddhist from a Muslim.

“Buddha’s Warriors” instead chose to dwell on the exotic: Shots of monks spinning prayer wheels were shown without explanation or context. A high-priest/adviser to His Holiness was caught on film going into a “trance” and speaking a “secret language.” One wonders what Mr. and Mrs. Middle-America could have been thinking. (“What is this? Voodoo?”) If only Amanpour and Co. had taken the time to go beyond the esoteric and get to the non-sectarian, universal applications of Dharma practice. (Get Bob Thurman or Joseph Goldstein or -- maybe better yet -- Ethan Nichtern in front of that camera!) Some less-than-passing mention of meditation would have been welcome at the very least.

One particularly interesting thing about the program was the subtly recurring message that the Dalai Lama and his stance on China are ineffectual. “Young monks,” Amanpour reported, “[are] no longer satisfied with [his] so-called Middle Way [of being conciliatory toward] China.” Activist Lhasang Tsering followed on this notion with this simple little doozy: “This Middle-Way policy is not acceptable.” Tsering, for his part -- and certainly he is not alone -- is willing to abandon non-violence in order to bring about Tibetan liberation: he understands that lives will be lost “on both sides.” On the other hand, the young activist Tenzin Tsondue was introduced as also being at odds with His Holiness, despite Tsondue’s very own statement that the Chinese are slowly “learning that they can’t fight a non-violent army.”

Other young Tibetan Buddhist freedom-fighters were featured -- marching in protest, learning nonviolent resistance to arrest, one even (bizarrely) carrying a cake decorated with the words “Onward Buddhist Soldier.” Some of Burma’s incredibly brave monks were also prime players, and Amanpour and her crew did a stellar job of explaining the run-up to and aftermath of the Saffron Revolution and the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 80,000 people after it touched down in the beginning of May. The monks were heartbreakingly frank: “[We’d seen] many children begging at our monastery… scavenging in the garbage… when they should be at school,” said the monk Ashin Kovida. Another, known as Gaudhiddha, recounted not just the violence he witnessed, but the violence he endured. His prayer, “May all living beings live in happiness in peace” was met, unsurprisingly, with the bloodying strike of a rifle butt against across his head.

(It should be said that the show wasn’t totally mired in darkness. Early on, Amanpour smartly stated that “The Buddhist Way is to find humor in all human folly,” and this idea was embodied later when viewers were introduced to Burma’s “Moustache Brothers,” an activist/comedic troupe whose work is to lampoon the Myanmar junta and to reclaim [the] freedom to joke, [the] freedom to write, [the] freedom to worship.” And yes, they had some serious moustaches. Another moment of weird levity came via footage of what was a sort of Burmese animatronic sculpture park, with Buddhist deities "coming to life" via primitive robotics, ala Disney's semi-terrifying It's a Small World attraction.)

All in all, "Buddha’s Warriors” was hardly “bad.” In many ways, it was actually quite great, shedding light as it did on some of the world’s most devoted peacemakers in some of the world’s most challenging circumstances. This sort of coverage has been an overdue for too long. But it surely left more viewers with questions than answers.

You can decide for yourself by watching the final airing tonight at 11pm EST.

(By the way, you'll find some of CNN's related online stories here and here, with some photos here.)

DHARAMSALA, India (CNN) -- I never knew much about Buddhism, and was not expecting much, spiritually, from covering the Dalai Lama. But what happened just goes to show how the unlikeliest events can affect you at the unlikeliest times.

[Read the rest here.]

Oh, and here's a new Huffington Post piece by Robert Thurman, called "The Dalai Lama/Obama/McCain Connection."

Gedun Gyatso, a 27-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk, is so devoted to the Dalai Lama that when he was in prison he placed a picture of him next to his pillow in open defiance of his jailers. The gesture earned Gyatso another month of incarceration on top of the three years he had already served for his political activity.

But today, Gyatso stands in defiance of the Dalai Lama's "middle way" approach to the long struggle between China and Tibetans over the fate of their homeland. The Tibetan spiritual leader's moderation is being challenged by a new generation at odds with his willingness to accept Tibetan autonomy within China rather than push for full independence.

Read the rest of this story here.

Click here for their video-take from last night. The McCain/HHDL coverage begins at 1:27.

The ever-fantastic Colbert Report touched on the meeting too. See McCain "meditating in the Senate" in this video, at 1:48.

Is it cool? Is it uncool?

I... don't... know!

What do you think?

Check it out here. (Via Huffington Post.)

"Go inside the world of Buddhism with Christiane Amanpour. In the fight for freedom and democracy, their weapon is peace. They are 'Buddha's Warriors,' Saturday & Sunday, 8 p.m. ET."

Mark yr calendars! (Here's the schedule, by the way.)

The real story, here.

I know it's not fair to compare these two, since they are literally about as far apart as two restaurants can be.  But I really miss greasy, wonderful Tibetan food and am generally feeling very nostalgic about McLeod Ganj (a feeling that is in no way related to that paper that's due in like a week hahahaha), and a nice bowl of tenthuk is too much to ask, is it?  I suppose I'll have to wait until I've saved up enough to fly back to India and pay a visit to ol' lazy-eye and the rest of the real Snow Lion crew.

On it, Stephen Colbert had Lama Surya Das as a guest, addressing (facetiously) whether or not Barack Obama should become a Tibetan Buddhist now that he's looking for a new church in these, the post-Jeremiah Wright days of Obama's presidential campaign.

This was Surya Das's second appearance on the show, and again, he did good. He said he had "10 Reasons Why Obama Should Become a Buddhist," and these could be found on his blog. (Sadly, they're not.) One sample reason, Surya's example of the confluence of Obama's character and his possible new faith: "For 2500 years, Buddha's been teaching about change and inclusion."

It was also worth seeing if only for the fleeting image of "The Dalai Grimace" -- but you'll have to wait til we have video to share to see that one.

So stay tuned -- or tune in for the rerun of tonight's show tomorrow after the dinner hour on Comedy Central.

Thanks to reader Scott M, who sends it, explaining: "I like the mixture of the Dalai Lama, motivational posters, and an adorably cute puppy and kitten."

(The quote on the poster reads: "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."--Dalai Lama)

I feel caught: I can barely tolerate motivational posters!

And while we're talking links, here's one of our favorite bloggers on his new practice tattoo. (Thanks to Ross WMB.)

And here's an interview by Tokyo Mango, with the Dalai Lama's little brother. (Thanks to Erin F.) Now, that is one heck of an interview.

Check out this short interview with Tendzin Choegyal, HHDL's youngest brother, via Tokyomango via BoingBoing. He seems like a pretty cool guy, "a rebellious soul who dropped out of college, spent a couple of years as a paratrooper in the Tibetan contingency of the Indian army, survived alcoholism,and found peace through a blend of Buddhism, lithium, and reading the news on the Internet." Sounds a lot like people I know. Except for the whole paratrooper thing, and the alcoholism. And the lithium. So, just reading the news online, and, sometimes, Buddhism.

Anyway. Here's my favorite part of the interview. Should sound kind of familiar after a semester of making fun of Steven Seagal and going to culture class...

GR: Have you met a lot of the celebrities who stop through Dharamsala to meet the Dalai Lama?

TC: Celebrities? They’re all human beings, what’s the big deal? You sit down with them, you start talking, and it’s the same thing. Richard Gere is a wonderful person—very simple, modest, and natural with whomever he meets. He’s done a lot for the Tibetan community. And then, on the other side of the scale, there’s Steven Seagal. Oh my god. I met him when he came here. He was wearing a funny coat, a Chinese brocade, funny trousers, and funny shoes with that ponytail. I asked him, “Why do you dress in such a peculiar manner?” He didn’t say anything. He’s arrogant, and pretends to be a Tibetan reincarnate. But why? He’s a strange man.

GR: What do you think about the preservation of Tibetan culture in Dharamsala?

TC: I think we’re losing it. Culture is not about dancing; it’s not about the songs you sing. I think we are starting to go mainstream here—people are wearing baseball caps and baggy pants. Human culture keeps on changing—it’s constantly being modified. There’s no such thing as the “original culture”—we are always in a state of flux. So it depends on how you look at it. But no matter how you dress or what kind of song you sing, as long as you can relate with other people, I think it’s okay. Any trend that is based on the mistaken view that freedom under democracy is a license to do anything is dangerous. You’ll destroy yourself, your family, and your community, because it’s based on selfishness. Say somebody is very angry, and he just can’t listen to reason. That person’s reason for not restraining himself is, I’m free.I can to whatever I want. The restraining factor is becoming smaller and smaller. We are becoming noble savages.

Elizabeth, you will also probably appreciate this advice about how to How to Cure Constipation with the Push of a Finger, also via Tokyomango. Apparently it has something to do with a pressure point between the thumb and index finger of your right hand.

They sell stickers too.

And don't miss our weirdest new favorite: The Dalai Bama:

...And then, while not Obama-related, there's always this class act.

By the way: don't get us wrong. While it's unfortunate that Stone said what she said (and that she uses her name and looks to sell diamonds), she does seem to be a basically fine person. Never really had any feelings for her before, but after watching her interact with old friend Garry Shandling in an extra for the recent Larry Sanders box set, I had a new impression of her as someone who's thoughtful and kinda cool. (More about that appearance here.)

As CNN reports, she said made remarks last week at the Cannes Film Festival, referring to the May 12 earthquake that has killed more than 68,000 people, saying that the quake was an act of "karma."

"They're not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a friend of mine," she said. "And then all of this earthquake and all this happened and I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice, that bad things happen to you?" Stone said on camera.

As a result, Christian Dior very smartly decided to remove her from their Chinese ads.

Here Stone belies not only her tendency to gaffe, but also her slippery grasp on the idea of karma itself.

It's okay, Sharon.

If you can be forgiven for Basic Instinct 2, you can probably be forgiven for even this.

(Oh, and maybe you wanna stop hawking diamonds, too. Think about the karma there.)

It sure looks like it. And it's quite a statement, too.

Thanks, Liam.

(Oh, and while we're at it, the page that Liam found this on also contains a link to another interesting street piece by someone else.)