Review - The Dalai Lama's Denver Apperance

I still am basking in the glow of seeing the Dalai Lama in Denver on September 17. I attended the event with my seventy-eight year old mother and my brother. I should mention that we live in Minnesota and made the trek to Denver solely to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama in person. We are not Buddhists, but we knew that the Dalai Lama’s reach went far beyond that. I had put my name in for pre-sale tickets and fortunately wound up with fantastic seats.

The security was very high – to the point that it delayed the program for about thirty minutes. Somehow though, those thirty minutes or so just increased my anticipation level. I silently was hoping that it did the same for my mother and brother after dragging them along with me (actually they came quite willingly). After a wonderful speech by the mayor of Denver, I watched as the Dalai Lamas head became bigger and bigger as he ascended the stairs to the stage. While watching all of this, I felt the tears well up in my eyes; at the same time, the goose bumps began to cover my body. I knew immediately what was happening – I was in the presence of someone so powerful with such positive rays coming from him … yet as I kept watching I realized before he even spoke a word, this man had no ego. Yes, you could feel it – ask anyone that was there.

I really cannot summarize his message too much, as it was over- whelmingly simple. The title of this presentation was “The Science of a Compassionate Life”. All walks of life could identify with his message, which was precisely the point.

I scoured the papers the next day – the only newspapers that I could find containing anything having to do with the Dalai Lamas talk were of course the Denver papers. Not USA Today, and not either of the big Minnesota papers – what a shame. His Holiness spent a fair amount of time in the United States, starting on the west coast and moving east to Buffalo (and a short stop in the Twin Cities). To have an Icon of positive words in the United States, and an extremely highly respected international figure, the Dalai Lama slipped through our country quietly. If the Pope had been in the U.S. (whom I would guess respects the messages of the Dalai Lama) the publicity would have gone on for weeks. I needn’t say more.

To summarize, if you ever have the chance to hear His Holiness The Dalai Lama speak in person – do. It will affect you.There are very few times now, when I reflect over the events of the day, that I do not wonder – was that a very Dalai Lama thing to do?

Buddhism and Celebrities - For Real or in need of Enlightenment?

It is interesting in these times of unrest how many people begin to look for an alternate way to express their spirituality. Well-known names like Richard Gere, Steven Segal, and Leonard Cohen are known for their direct and serious connection with Buddhism. Others celebrities that seem to show an earnest interest in the Buddhist way of life are Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves, and Kate Bosworth. Hopefully people like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and other big stars won’t jump on the Buddhist band wagon because they view it as a fad. I have no problem at all with anyone exploring the Buddhist religion, it might seem obvious that I am doing that very thing. The problem that I have is people calling themselves Buddhists when in fact they know very little about the religion and do not participate fully in it, and its culture. Buddhism is a very serious religion and should not be stepped into lightly, after all it has been in existence much longer than Christianity