The Dignity of Being Human

dignity at the heart of the world

the heart of the world

The dignity of being human … “finding a place of wonder that is seemingly unattainable, that requires a particular openness of mind and spirit (and physicality) ….”

How can each of us find this place in our daily practice wherever we find ourselves? This must be looking for the Heart of the World!! It must be like finding the “dignity of being human”.

(anonymous) “In 2001, I made a journey with friends, across the Himalayas in Nepal to the hidden, Tibetan Buddhist Kingdom of Lo Mantang (capital Mustang) – not far from the Tibetan border … we were following the trail of Tibetan refugees and beyond into the wilderness of the desert.
It was a tough and hugely rewarding experience. And I can assure you,
it was nothing like the undertaking in this book – with Sherpas doing the lifting
and carrying and setting up tent for their exhausted western travellers
I’m so excited reading this book which I will always treasure !”

The Heart of the World is the story of the most captivating story of exploration of recent memory, an extraordinary journey into one of the most inaccessible places on earth, a mediation on our place in nature and a pilgrimage into the Tibetan Buddhist faith. Ian Baker travels into the Tsangpo gorge, the world’s deepest and impenetrable chasm, searching for a mythical waterfall that ancient Tibetan tradition believes to the gateway to a mystical paradise, Shangri-La. The heart of the Tsangpo gorge was fully explored only recently by Ian Baker, after years of interviewing lamas, deciphering obscure Buddhist texts and making pilgrimages to the gorge. He descended into the gorge and made international news by finding a 108-foot-high waterfall.

Let this last sentence point the way for each of us: an adventure to discover the gorge and the source of the river of life.

“The Dignity of Being Human” would be a great theme for the next series of Virtus Lectures (Oct 2018 – June 2019) or for Deep Democracy Forum

JL 23 July 2017