Hello Dalai

Last July when my buddies Sue and Lynda came down for lunch at the C’ville Downtown Mall, they noticed signs for an upcoming visit by the Dalai Lama and determined that we should make a date to regather on October 11th for the event.  Since I live down here, they put me in charge of tickets, etc.

Sue and Lynda are not your run of the mill friends.  They are a dynamic twosome, full of energy and “joie de vivre”. Whenever I am with them, life becomes an adventure, an escape from the everyday, and the world becomes a place of wonder and awe.  That doesn’t mean they lead me astray, although there was that one time when they egged me on to climb onto the back of a dirty old horse and ride him bareback in my party attire…    Our fun is always good and clean, except of course for the horse.

We have been friends for more than fifteen years, since we lived in Vienna, VA for a couple of years in the mid 90’s.  I met Sue first, she was the Director of Religious Education at our parish and Lynda was her long time friend.  They sort of took me under-wing as their sidekick and we’ve been adventuring and supporting each other ever since.

So, last Thursday they came down to see the Dalai Lama.  It was a glorious fall day; the sky was clear and the sun shone warm enough just to take the chill out of the crisp air.  I’d planned ahead by purchasing a parking pass so finding a place to leave the car wasn’t an issue and our seats were wonderful.

The audience in the amphitheater were an interesting lot.  As Lynda put it, “there was a lot of granola out there!”  Charlottesville has a strong Buddihist community and UVA has a large Tibetan Studies Department so there was a healthy mix of vegans, vegetarians, Buddists, Tibetans, students and everyday folks, all kept under close scrutiny by a sizable contingent of State Department and Secret Service agents in black suits and sunglasses.

Before the Dalai Lama spoke, there were performances by the Red Crooked Sky American Indian Dance Troupe,Techung, a Tibetan folk singer and children from a local Tibetan school.  The costumes, music and energy all worked to calm the crowd and help focus on the main event,  a presentation, “Beyond Religion, Ethics for a New World” by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

As he quietly took the stage and the audience stood in applause, I felt goosebumps go up my arms and neck and I quietly wondered if I would feel the same in the presence of the Pope.  I guess I’ll never know.  He spoke softly, smiling the whole time with the occasional assistance from his translator.  Sue, Lynda and I all envied not only the translator for his close proximity to the Dalai Lama but also the Dalai Lama for having someone constantly at his side providing the word he was searching for.  What a perk that is!

And, even though the title of the talk was “Beyond Religion”, the Dalai Lama in no way dismissed or discounted religion.  Instead, he encouraged us to look to each other with love and compassion, embracing the common elements found in all religions and look beyond our differences in dealing with the challenges we all face in this world.  His style was less of preaching and more of gentle leading.  He exuded warmth and cheerfulness, and chuckled throughout his talk, usually referring in a humbling way about himself; not self-effacing, simply finding humor in his humanity.

It struck me that perhaps this is how Jesus’ followers saw him, a simple holy man, travelling from place to place, sharing his message of compassion and love of neighbor.  No, the Dalai Lama is not THE son of God, but he certainly is A son of God and one in whom I am certain He is well pleased.  I am so grateful that Sue and Lynda saw the sign and guided me into this adventure.

more to follow…..