Yesterday I had a most extraordinary opportunity to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Erwin Center here in Austin. This opportunity presented itself 3 weeks ago as I was riding public transit around the city on my day off. I'd gone to the area where my bank is located and had stopped in front of a nearby book store to peruse their sales items. I happened upon "The Art of Happiness at Work" by the Dalai Lama for the bargain price of $4.99 and snapped it up. When I got back on the bus, the Lifestyle section of the Austin paper was sitting on the seat next to me and when I picked it up and turned to the inside page, there was a notice advertising the spiritual leader's upcoming talk. I noticed that the tickets were being given away the following Tuesday and he was speaking two Tuesdays after that. Tuesday being my day off during the week, it seemed to me I was supposed to go see the Nobel Peace Prize winner. It was also in keeping with my committment to explore spirituality.
Wearing traditional red and gold robes, His Holiness entered to a standing ovation and acknowledged the crowd with hands clasped in Buddhist style greeting. He took off his sandles, seated himself cross legged on the ornate chair, cleared his throat and began to speak. I had difficulty understanding him for the first few minutes as English was clearly not his first language. Once I did begin to follow him, I realized that his message was clear and simple; compassion was the key to living in a global community and all human beings are entitled to a happy life.
His Holiness also called for religious harmony, saying that "all religions have some potential to serve humanity." Religion, he said, can offer hope in times of tragedy such as hurricanes. This reminded me that regardless of my strong feelings about the many evils of organized religion, it does indeed serve a vital purpose for millions around the globe.
He went on to say that if audience members found his ideas interesting they should follow up with "further investigation." "If you think these ideas are not much of interest, then forget it," he said, drawing laughter from the 12,000+ in attendance.
This experience with a"simple monk", as he referred to himself, was exhilarating, moving and one which I'll never forget. Truly a once in a lifetime encounter, it has encouraged me to continue my spiritual search and reminded me that my daily prayers should always include the request that I have the ability to deal with all human beings in a compassionate way
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