I came across a great Daoist concept today. Enjoy.
Golden Elixir is another name for one’s fundamental nature. . . . There is no other Golden Elixir outside one’s fundamental nature. Every human being has this Golden Elixir complete in himself: it is entirely realized in everybody. It is neither more in a sage, nor less in an ordinary person. It is the seed of the Immortals and the Buddhas, the root of the worthies and the sages.
Liu Yiming (1734-1821)
I have a bit of a weakness for rock n’ roll autobiographies, not very spiritual I know, but for a quick entertaining read they’re good value. So last week at the airport I was looking for something that didn’t require too much concentration and picked up this book.
Amphlett was lead singer with Australian band the Divinyls during the 1980s. I saw the Divinyls once, during their heyday, at a ZZZ Joint effort at the University of Queensland Refec, around 1983. I was an art college student at the time and I mostly remember a crazy alcohol-fueled night. Amphlett was sexually threatening and seemed slightly mad as she stalked the stage in her school uniform brandishing her trademark fluoro stick. After that I never really thought much about her other than like every other Australian of that era I knew the Divinyls hits Science fiction and All the boys in town etc. Unsurprisingly, she lived the rock n’ roll lifestyle to the best of her ability, drinking, doing drugs and behaving badly for most of the next 20 years.
What really struck me about her story was her uncompromising and self-centred belief in the Divinyls and her own, and lead guitarist and partner Mark McEntee’s, talent. This belief was fatal to anyone that got in the way and ultimately to her own health and sanity. Even today, while acknowledging that some of her behaviour was bad she refuses to apologise for anything ‘ever’. That’s quite a statement. It becomes very clear that driving ambition and passion are not necessarily a positive quality and will not lead to a happy life. Ironically, for a seemingly strong, aggressive female her relationship with the effeminate and cold McEntee was codependent, flawed, painful and from this perspective appears, more than a little sad.
Finally and predictably Chrissy Amphlett succumbed to alcoholism and on Christmas day 1996 she had a semi-religious experience during a drunken meltdown in which she perceived good and evil angels battling for her soul. Apparently the good won out providing the catalyst for her to give up drinking. Subsequently, with the help of AA and her husband, musician Charley Drayton, Amphlett succeeded and has been on the wagon ever since.
When the Divinyls finally stopped playing and touring Amphlett deeply in debt and broken successfully took on the role of Judy Garland in The Boy from Oz. Unbeknownst to her co stars and the public she had just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. With typical single minded strength of will she had performed while battling the debilitating symptoms and the psychological impact of the diagnosis. Amphlett is a survivor if nothing else.
I think what I find most shocking is that despite the havoc that was wrought on her life and those around her by ‘rock n’ roll’ Amphlett is still enamoured by the culture, but I guess she knows little else. These days she appears to be more than comfortable playing the part of legendary rock chick with the classic shaggy and eye-obscuring hair do and subscribes to the view that her contribution to Australian rock culture makes it all worth it. I can’t say I admire Chrissy Amphlett, her story is one of excess and misplaced determination and a case study in what complete subscription to this life style can do. However, she is very, very honest in telling her life story and that takes courage.
Is there a rock n’ roll story where the protagonist isn’t driven, addicted and finally has their dark night of the soul? Young wannabes take note! Buuut it’s an entertaining read if you’re looking for something to kill a few hours!
Take a look at this excerpt from an interview with Andrew Denton.
Waiting for the Dalai Lama
We heard him before he walked into the small lecture theatre. He was wired and muttering in Tibetan, maybe something like, ‘Where am I again’. We, the staff and past students of the Buddhist Studies in India program (maybe 50 0r 60 0f us) and a few members of the local Tibetan community, were standing in anticipation and respect. He seemed frail, and was helped to his seat by the Vice Chancellor, which brought tears to my eyes. Tibetan stuff always has that effect on me. He saluted us with the anjali mudra then sat quietly rearranging his robe hrmphing and peering myopically around. We waited expectantly. He had just arrived from Melbourne and his plane had been delayed. I imagine this often happens and he barely has time to get his bearings. How does he cope with his punishing speaking schedule and the endlessly expectant audiences waiting for his words of wisdom? His monk’s standard issue brown leather lace ups made him seem particularly vulnerable, or maybe I was just star struck and romanticising.
A blurry picture of the Dalai Lama at UTAS
After words from the academics, he took the podium and proceeded to speak about how important it is that universal ethical values, unaligned to religion, be taught in schools. He perceives this as something lacking and urged us to begin research in the area. Young people need to understand that ‘happiness cannot be found on the internet’. For an hour he ranged over a number of topics including the importance of religious harmony in which he cited the Indian democracy as an example (not so sure about this - maybe a prudent comment!). He gave anecdotes about people he has met around the world and the loneliness and isolation he finds. The importance of love and compassion in overcoming fear and anger which have disastrous effects on one’s immune system. He seemed to move from topic to topic in a random kind of way but always at the heart of his words were the concepts of community, compassion and humanity.
Finally he asked for our questions, for which we were quite unprepared and was apparent in the quality of the questions asked . He gave short shrift to queries like ‘What can we do to help Tasmania’s environment’ his response was that India and China’s problems are far greater. He dismissed a broad question about philosophy as not being clearly defined. I really just wanted to personally thank him for initiating the TBSIEP, but didn’t have the courage to speak up.
It was over too soon and he left, we all came out feeling inspired and uplifted and for my part a little sad. There is no doubt that this man is charismatic and deeply compassionate in a practical and commonsense way. He is also the consummate diplomat. His talk was rather disjointed and it’s often difficult to understand his accent but despite this his charisma and compassionate intention have a positive effect. What he said was nothing new but it is always good to hear messages of hope and occasionally he came out with a real gem which had me nodding in agreement. His fundamental likeability and humour shone through.
I wonder if this was his farewell speech to UTAS, how much longer can he continue to travel the world? He commented that it was time for people of his age group to say ‘Bye, bye’ and let the younger generation take over. It will be very sad when he can no longer be a globally roaming advocate for peace, love and harmony.
This time next week I’ll be in Hobart to see the Dalai Lama. Very excited about this.
The Dalai Lama's monks performing in Australia
Why Hobart? Four years ago I went on an exchange program through the University of Tasmania to Sarnath in India to study at the Tibetan Institute of Higher Studies. The program was set up at the DLs request to facilitate cultural exchange between Tibetan and Western students. This was an amazing experience and something I will never forget. The kindness and beauty of the Tibetans that I met was just inspiring.
To coincide with the DLs visit to Australia there’s going to be an event to celebrate ten years of the program, which I’ll be attending. No idea what this will be like but I’ll be catching up with friends from my time in India and also attending the DLs public talk.
The DL is 74 now and the pace that he sets is amazing but he can’t keep travelling indefinitely. The opportunity to be around him is something not to be missed if you get the chance.
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