The next recipient of America’s highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal: Tibet’s god-king, the Dalai Lama.

Not to be confused with the Congressional Medal of Honor (which is awarded to military personnel only), nomination for the Congressional Gold Medal requires support of 2/3 of the House and at least 67 Senators before a nominee is considered.

Although the first recipients included citizens who participated in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants, and foreign recipients.

Past recipients include George Washington, John Paul Jones, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Lindbergh, Robert Frost, Robert Kennedy, Rosa Parks and other historical notables.

Now, I don’t mean to disparage the holy man — I’ve enjoyed his writings and have quite a bit of admiration for him as a person. But therein lies the problem: my admiration is based on him as a human being, whereas he and his supporters claim that he is in fact a reincarnation of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

Therein lies my problem.

Is the award going to the man who was born a Tibetan and became a monk, or is it going to the reincarnated entity — and aren’t the two inseparable?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!