The Masterchef Holy Pickle

Yes, I am one of those people who watches Masterchef.

It really shouldn't be a big deal, but I go to a school where everything mainstream is being shunned for the sake of being mainstream. Like, seriously, I think we're gonna start shitting in the park because too many people use toilets.

Anyway, the Dalai Lama is set to appear on an upcoming episode, and the challenge is to cook a vegetarian dish for him and Kylie Kwong - vegetarianism is a part of strict Buddhism, which is kind of expected of His Holiness. But what's even more wacko than the Dalai Lama appearing on Masterchef is the fact that one of the contestants refused to address the Dalai Lama as 'His Holiness'.

I no longer consider myself a Buddhist, but it would nonetheless be an honour to meet the Dalai Lama and I would of course observe all the formalities.You just have to refer to the Dalai Lama as 'His Holiness', just like you refer to the Queen as 'Her Majesty'. You can't call the Dalai Lama 'Dalai'. It just doesn't work. It's like calling the Queen 'Lizzy' in public.

It has been a personal choice to consider myself an atheist and I firmly believe that there is no God, no karma, nothing up there smiling down. But I have always prided myself in my respect for religion and I always try to respect the religious freedom and rights of others. Religious leaders may stand behind Gods and deities and holy philosophies, but at the core of every religion is the pursuit of truth, peace and serenity, and I respect that goal even if I agree with nothing else. Unlike Kate from Masterchef, my personal religious beliefs never interfere with common courtesy. Kate was not just disrespectful to the Dalai Lama himself, but the whole Buddhist community, and by referring to the Dalai Lama as 'His Holiness' she would be saying, in effect, 'I think this and you think that, but let's just agree to disagree, okay?' But no, apparently that's too hard. The title of 'His Holiness' is not proof of one deity or another, it's recognising that this person is in pursuit of truth and happiness through religion, and I respect that. It's something I could never do.

We all have the right to believe in whatever we believe in. Whether you pray to God, or to Jesus, or to the Buddha and the Dalai Lama really, in the end, should we quibble over names? Whatever makes you happy, I say, but just don't piss off the world whilst you do it.