The Dalai Lama's Visit

I woke up on Friday morning to a boatload of rain.  It was not great weather to enjoy my personal day from work.  However, the reason for the day off was a special one.  I was fortunate enough to obtain a few tickets to hear Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, speak at Western Connecticut State University.  Although I have to admit I did not know too much about his teachings, I knew enough to know that when one of the spiritual leaders of the world is ten minutes from your house, you go.

My neighbor picked us up at 8:00 in the morning for the 10:00 event.  We left plenty of time for parking and security, probably too much since we were in our seats before 8:30.  Security was high with metal detectors and several levels of ticket checking.  In the O’Neill Center, a mixed audience of 3,500 soon packed the room. 

At 10:00, seven monks took the stage and began chanted the opening prayer.  Their harmonic voices reverberated deeply in the room.  Wearing burgundy robes and arms crossed, they sang in unison.  I had to close my eyes to attempt to wipe out the distraction of latecomers being seated.  It was with them closed that I was able to begin to feel calmness and quiet, which was a little ironic for the somewhat noisy room.

After opening remarks by the university president, actor and humanitarian Richard Gere introduced the Dalai Lama, which was a very pleasant surprise.  I will admit I was excited to see him in person.  After Gere’s remarks, the president of the university conferred an honorary degree on the Dalai Lama. He was also presented with a WCSU visor, which he donned during most of his talk.  A very educated man with many degrees, he faced the audience afterwards and asked, ‘What do I have a degree in now?’  Everyone laughed.  He stated he was happy to get this new degree without ‘having to do any homework’.  Everyone laughed again.  His sense of humor came out from the start.  He has a beautiful infectious laugh.

Showing off his new degree

The Dalai Lama’s talk on this day was centered on Advice for Daily Life.  He talked about compassion, forgiveness, love, education, happiness, and inner peace.  His fundamental belief is that we are all the same as human beings. He believes that you need to make an effort to develop more compassion for other human beings.  He recognizes that it is not easy and says you have to work hard at it, but it will inevitably increase your own inner strength. 

He spoke a lot about forgiveness.  For some people this is a hard concept.  He suggested starting by controlling your anger and hatred, which are signs of weakness, by using your intelligence.   He explained that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness but rather one of strength and control.  Forgiveness leads to inner peace, which leads to happiness.

The Dalai Lama values education but believes the teaching of inner values is missing from current university systems.  To have a successful, happy life, with more friends and less enemies, he says to pay more attention to inner values, not money and power.  Look inward; a happy life does not come from material things, but from your mental state.

The talk concluded with, ‘Happiness depends on inner peace; inner peace depends on concern for your fellow man’s well being. Inner peace can be found by employing our intelligence.’

Although his accent was strong, I was able to understand the majority of what he said.  I found it a little difficult to sum up his beliefs in a short post.  I would suggest visiting his website at http://www.dalailama.com/ for more information about his teachings and beliefs. 

After his talk, he took some pre-screened questions from the community.  I will share two funny responses.

Q – Many young adults lack self-purpose in their lives.  What guidance can you give?

A – (Pause) I don’t know.  (Followed by laughter and lots of clapping.)  People have many dispositions.  Some people you meet and feel they don’t care about anything.  They are not using their human brain properly.  Alcohol damages your intelligence.  Spiritual qualities need to be cultivated.  You need to have the ability to be at ease with events.  Sometimes people are apathetic about everything.  I don’t know, maybe they need a psychotherapist.  (Another round of laughter and clapping.)

Q – What advice do you have for people with terminal illnesses to help them be peaceful?

A – If a person has faith, keep it constantly, especially at difficult moments.  God creates our lives so the ending of life also has a connection to God.  Three to four years ago I had a gall bladder problem.  The doctor examined it and knew it had to be removed but hesitated to tell me.  I told him that God created our body, so he created the limitation of each organ and this organ reached its end so it has to be removed.  (Round of laughter.)

The day was very memorable.  Much of what he said made a lot of sense.  It caused me to pause and reflect on my own actions and how I can be a better person.  If everyone stopped to do that, might the world be a better place?

Photos courtesy of Western Connecticut State University.

Richard Gere introducing the Dalai Lama