Meet the Dalai Lama

I saw His Holiness this afternoon in Madison. I was in the nosebleed section, but the seats were close to the side and the giant screens on each side helped. The lecture started a little bit after the scheduled time, but it was still exciting. HH was introduced by the governor of Wisconsin and then began his lecture.

He was very difficult to understand. He spoke in English, very good English, but heavily accented and prone to pitch changes, which were cute. He wore no shoes and sat in his armchair in the lotus position.

He spoke of compassion, affection, happiness and life. He also answered questions from cards that the translator, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist monk tenured at UW Madison, held. The questions were interesting. He spoke breiefly of China and the tension, but stressed that Tibetans like Chinese people, just not totalitarian governments. When he was finished he thanked everyone and bowed.

I’m going exactly one week from now!

July 19th Madison, WI

Public Talk in London, U.K. on May 22: His Holiness will give a public talk at the Royal Albert Hall. Contact: The Office of Tibet, Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street, London NW8 7AF, UK. Tel: +44-20-7722-5378, Fax: +44-20-7722-0362

Public Talk in Nottingham, U.K. on May 24 & 25: His Holiness will give general talks on Bringing Meaning to Our Lives. Contact: The Office of Tibet, London, UK. Tel: +44-20-7722-5378, Fax: +44-20-7722-0362

Teaching in Nottingham, U.K. from May 26 to 28: His Holiness will give three-day teachings on Je Tsongkhapa’s Praise to the Buddha for His Discourses on Dependent Origination (tendrel toepa). On the morning of May 28 His Holiness will confer the Vajrasattva Empowerment. Contact: The Office of Tibet, London, UK. Tel: +44-20-7722-5378, Fax: +44-20-7722-0362

Colloquium on Christian and Buddhist Traditions and Prayers in Oxford, U.K. on May 29: His Holiness will give the keynote address at the Blackfriars Hall. Contact: The Office of Tibet, Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street, London NW8 7AF, UK. Tel: +44-20-7722-5378, Fax: +44-20-7722-0362

Public Talk in Oxford, U.K. on May 30: His Holiness will give a public talk at the Sheldonian Theatre on the wider understanding of the Buddhist tradition. Contact: The Office of Tibet, Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street, London NW8 7AF, UK. Tel: +44-20-7722-5378, Fax: +44-20-7722-0362

Teaching in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA from July 10 to 15: His Holiness will give six-day teachings at Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena on Je Tsongkhapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (lamrim chenmo) organized by the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center of New Jersey. Contact Website: www.dalailamajuly2008.com

Public Talk in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA on July 13: His Holiness will give a talk on Generating a Good Heart at Stabler Arena organized by Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Contact Website: www.dalailamajuly2008.com

Teaching in Madison, Wisconsin, USA from July 20 to 23: His Holiness will give four-day teachings on Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (chodjug) & Kamalashila’s Middle Stages of Meditation (gomrim barpa) at the request of Geshe Lhundup Sopa of Deer Park Center. Contact Website: www.deerparkcenter.org

I just read on the Chicago Tribune’s website that the Dalai Lama was in Chicago during the first week of May! Looking at the dates, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go, but it reminds me that I have to take charge of my goals if I want to accomplish them.