Free The Visitor by Brent Ayscough Page A

let’s see...where to start. Mental poisons. He teaches of mental poisons. There are negative states of mind, which He calls Kleshas, afflicting emotions. These are attachment, aversion, and ignorance. One can be cured of these once one achieves liberation. Without achieving liberation, there is illness, which includes mental illness.
    “There are the positive emotions. These are such things as kindness, love, and compassion. The Buddhists have these qualities present in their minds but, while having these present, they have also a direct comprehension of emptiness.”
    “I’m not sure I comprehend emptiness, but the rest I think I understand,” Andrew said.
    “It takes some time, Andrew. At the heart of Buddhist philosophy is the notion of compassion for others. This is not the usual love for family. It’s love one can have even for another who has done one harm. He believes in universal compassion, based on spiritual democracy. Selfishness is destructive to the individual, and to society.
    “There are ten virtuous acts spoken of in Buddhism. Three concern the body: one must not kill, steal, or engage in sexual misconduct. Four others are verbal: lying, defaming others, offensive words, and engaging in frivolous conversation. The last three virtuous acts are mental in nature: do not develop covetousness, do not practice malice, and do not hold false or perverted views, which denies spiritual perfection.”
    “Do you practice these?”
    “I try. I believe that you Christians have similar goals, do you not? The ten commandments?”
    “Yes. I know of those.” His answer was hardly that of an Oxford scholar on religion.
    “He speaks of clear light as the Primordial Buddha,” she went on.
    “Have you seen the light?” Andrew asked,
    “No, not yet,” Shanta admitted.
    “What does the Dalai Lama intend to do about His exile from Tibet?”
    “He wants, most of all, to have Tibet returned to Tibetans. You heard the speakers last night. In a sentence, you might say that He says that the freedom struggle of the Tibetan people is at a crucial stage, and that the sinicization of Tibet is cultural genocide.”
    “You’ve been to Tibet,” Andrew said. “Do you think there is any chance of the Chinese reversing what they have done to Tibet?”
    “Not even a faint chance.”
    “Something must be done! What?”
    “The only thing that can save the Tibetan culture and the home of the Dalai Lama is for the Chinese to leave.”
    “How on earth would you rid Tibet of seven and a half million Chinese?”
    “Well, the government of China has no intention of requiring them to move--just the opposite,” she said. “China continues to place Chinese there, deliberately, to dilute the Tibetans and their culture”
    “You’ve traveled so much and know so much.”
    “Well, thank you, Andrew, but I’ve traveled mostly in Asia. This is my first time to America. Travel is very expensive. And my parents are supporting me still. I’ll probably take a job sometime soon, most likely in Singapore. I could never get a work permit to come here.”
    He looked at a schedule he’d picked up at the door of the meeting hall. “I saw in the schedule that He is going to speak in London next. Will you be following to hear Him there?”
    “Oh my, no! I can’t afford that!”
    “Would you go to London if you could?”
    “Of course.”
    “I’ve decided to go. Would you like to come with me? My treat.”
    Utterly surprised, Shanta blinked. “Oh, I couldn’t accept such a generous invitation, but thank you.”
    “It really won’t cost anything. I’ll be taking the company jet if I go, so you would just be riding along. And, on the trip, you could tell me more--there is so much that I don’t understand.”
    “Company jet?”
    “Yes. I’m the sole beneficiary of a trust that my father left me. The company has its own jet. As one of my benefits, I can call for it whenever I want.”
    “Is your father dead?”
    “Yes. Actually