Sometimes They Lie

The Nechung Oracle

There's a story about the Dalai Lama that appears in the film Kundun and in his autobiography, as well.

It goes something like this:

The Dalai Lama had just arrived in a place where he feared his enemies might try to assassinate him. So he called his soothsayer or channeler, the Nechung Oracle, to him, and asked, "Shouldn't I leave this place immediately?"

The soothsayer went into a trance, and the spirits spoke through him, saying to the Dalai Lama, "No, you should just settle in, because you're going to be here for a very long time."

The next day, the Dalai Lama was invited to attend an event at which he feared he might be killed. So again he called his soothsayer, asking, "Should I attend this event?"

Again the soothsayer went into a trance. The spirits spoke again, saying, "You must leave this place. This very night! Leave! Immediately! Get going, right now!"

The Dalai Lama fled successfully and arrived safely in India, where he lives today.

Now obviously, the advice given in the second instance ("leave immediately") is a direct contradiction of what was said just a day before ("settle in because you're going to be here for a very long time").

What's up with this? Are the spirits actually lying? If so, why? Can they not be trusted to tell us the truth?

The Dalai Lama explains, as follows (I'm paraphrasing here):

In times of stress, when they believe it is in your best interest, the spirits will lie when asked for advice. If I'd been told at the first inquiry that I'd be leaving the very next night, I might have begun packing, or acted otherwise suspiciously, attracting the attention of my enemies who could have assassinated me on the spot. So the spirits speaking through the Oracle told me, for my own protection, that I'd be in that place for a long time. Because I believed them, I did nothing that aroused suspicion, and this saved me from danger. Thus the spirits saved my life with their lie.

Perhaps this explains why sometimes the predictions of even the best psychics fail to come true.

It might sound like a cop out, but it makes sense to me!

Here's a video clip of the Nechung Oracle in action: