Posted on 09/18/2005 7:53:56 AM PDT by onja
If lack of pretension is a tenet of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is practicing what he preaches.
The 70-year-old monk - who has won a Nobel Prize, topped best-seller lists and rubbed elbows with presidents and potentates - had not a whiff of pomposity about him as he met with local news media Thursday after touching down in Tucson, his first visit here in 12 years.
The popular spiritual leader strode into the ballroom of a West Side resort wearing flip-flops, a wide grin and a scarlet robe that bared one shoulder.
Settling into a stuffed chair, he slipped off his sandals, wiggled his bare toes and crossed his legs into a lotus position, soles peeking from beneath the billow of fabric.
Holding court against a black velvet curtain with a Buddhist icon behind him, His Holiness chuckled when a reporter asked his thoughts on the reputed healing energy of the Sonoran Desert.
"My skin is too much dry. It makes me itchy," he said in halting English, vigorously scratching his neck with his fingertips.
Asked about his reputation for being fun-loving, he laughed and said he's "getting old."
Often regarded as a font of wisdom, the Dalai Lama made no effort to sound like a know-it-all as he faced a dozen or so reporters and photographers.
Asked by one whether he thought human beings would still exist on Earth in future centuries, he shrugged and said, "Nobody knows."
"I'm optimistic. I think our future is more bright than our past," he said.
Thus began a four-day visit marked by capacity crowds at every turn. The exiled head of the state of Tibet will give a series of workshops and lectures, ending his tour with a peace talk to an expected audience of 8,200 on Monday at the Tucson Convention Center.
His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso - the Dalai Lama's given name - is in town as part of a two-week national tour. His Tucson visit is drawing Buddhist monks, nuns, prayer bead vendors and well-wishers from around the western United States, organizers say.
"It's a great honor for Tucson to have him here," said city resident Joan Vann, an ardent follower of the spiritual leader of millions of Tibetan Buddhists.
"One of the great things about the Dalai Lama is that everyone loves him," Vann said.
"It doesn't matter what your religion is. He brings a message of compassion, tolerance and love, and that's a message the world needs."
A religious leader with the lure of a pop culture icon - he is friendly with Richard Gere and other Hollywood stars - the Dalai Lama already has made a splash during this U.S. visit. So far, he has appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" show, traveled to Alaska to discuss wildlife conservation, attended a benefit hosted by country singer Willie Nelson and spoken to a crowd of 10,000 on a football field in Idaho.
He will visit Texas, New Jersey and New York after leaving Arizona.
In Tucson, his schedule will revolve mainly around three days of private spiritual teachings he will lead for devotees at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa.
He arrived there by motorcade with police escort Thursday. There was high security at the hotel, with bomb-sniffing dogs and plainclothes officers checking for weapons.
Shakti Gray, who traveled to Tucson from Los Angeles for the event, said the Dalai Lama's teaching sessions are not open to the public because they are geared toward adherents who "are trying to deepen their understanding of Buddhist texts."
The lone event open to a general audience is sold out: his Tucson Convention Center talk on "Creating Peace in a Violent World." About 7,000 people paid from $10 to $95 each for tickets to that event, and another thousand or so tickets were distributed free to University of Arizona students and others.
Ken Bacher, an executive at Arizona Teachings, one of the nonprofit groups sponsoring the visit, said security concerns and scheduling demands are the reasons the Dalai Lama does not venture out to greet the masses in Tucson, as, for example, the pope does on foreign visits.
He also is scheduled to meet Monday with several local clergy members for an interfaith discussion on peace. That session will include American Indian blessings and participation by a Methodist minister, a rabbi, a Muslim imam and Roman Catholic Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, event organizers say.
At Thursday's press conference, the Dalai Lama was quizzed by reporters for about an hour, asked for his view on everything from U.S.-Chinese relations to President Bush's handling of the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina.
"I'm a foreigner, not a citizen of America. So this is your business, not mine," he replied.
"I know President Bush. I think he's a very sincere human being . . . who has great responsibilities," he said.
He said he believed that better relations between China and America could benefit the Tibetan people. The Dalai Lama won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
A prolific author, the Dalai Lama has written or co-written 62 books, including the popular 1998 volume "The Art of Happiness," which spent two years on The New York Times best-seller list.
He said he hoped his visit would help spread the message that peace, love and compassion are the keys to joyful living, regardless of what religion one embraces - or whether one has religion at all.
"Even without religion," he said, "these are the values for a happy life."
It's kind of strange how little publicity this is getting. It'd be like the Pope coming. Oh, well.
We need the standard Richard Gere pic, please.
I heard the Dalai spoke at Sun Valley on 9/11. I never heard what he spoke about.
BTW - has anyone ever viewed the movie, "Kundun?" I found it quite fascinating.
The Dalai Lama is a fraud of the 1st magnitude. This "humble" little monk where's expensive Italian shoes and hob nobs with celebrities. Humble my ASS!
No. What's it about?
I'm not sure about other times but at least this time he was wearing sandles.
"This "humble" little monk where's expensive Italian shoes and hob nobs with celebrities."
What kind of shoes does the Pope wear?
Haven't the Popes met celebrities, too?
Can you explain the standard that you hold the Dalai Lama to?
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - Dalai Lama
(PS - Pope John Paul and the Dalai Lama both favor (favored for the Pope) Doc Marten shoes... which are from England, not Italy. I own several pairs myself, they are sublimely comfortable.
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