Tuesday, August 17, 1999
Dalai Lama offers message of peace
4,000 welcome him to Indiana
BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sister Margaret Funk and Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon greet the Dalai Lama on Monday in Indianapolis.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |
|
INDIANAPOLIS — The Dalai Lama, who calls himself a simple Buddhist monk, brought a simple message of compassion and reconciliation to the nation's heartland Monday.
Speaking to more than 4,000 people — who paid $10 each to hear him — at Market Square Arena, the 64-year-old exiled political and religious figure repeated the themes that have made him an international symbol of tolerance and good will.
He began a 12-day visit to Indiana — a day after he spoke to 40,000 in New York's Central Park — with the Indianapolis welcoming ceremony, then headed south to Bloomington for the rest of his stay.
“Human compassion, a sense of caring for one another, is I think one fundamental, and that also brings us more health,” the Dalai Lama told his rapt audience.
“When I think of me, myself, my interests, I think of a very small focus. Result is small problems seem very big and that brings us fear and anxiety. A person who takes a wider perspective, you see, one's own problems will not bring that kind of anxiety.”
Since his exile from Tibet in 1959, after the Chinese occupied the country, the Dalai Lama has traveled the world preaching tolerance and nonviolence.
Monday's crowd included Japanese tourists, college stu dents, retirees and actor Steven Seagal. Although the half-hour speech repeated many of the ideas he has espoused for years, its simplicity won over many in the audience.
“I think he probably said a whole lot more than what we heard, and when we digest and think about it, it was quite profound,'' said Johnnie Alex, 55, a former Cincinnatian who lives in Indianapolis. She came with a group of friends from her church.
The Dalai Lama is in Indiana to lead Kalachakra for World Peace 1999, an eight-day Buddhist ceremony that aims to spread peace through meditation, rituals and teaching. It marks the third time he has visited Bloomington and the fourth time he has led Kalachakra in the United States.
Bloomington is home to the Tibetan Cultural Center, founded by the Dalai Lama's elder brother, Thubten Norbu. Mr. Norbu, a retired Indiana University professor who lives in Bloomington, was at Monday's welcoming ceremony.
The Dalai Lama's sense of humor was evident in Indianapolis. Dressed as usual in the ruby-and-saffron robes of a Buddhist monk, he prompted laughter from the crowd as he consulted his translator and bounced between English and Tibetan.
“There is danger when I speak (in English that) you will get misunderstanding because I use the wrong word,” he said, chuckling. “Sometimes I confuse (the words) pessimism and optimism.”
Monday's speech was titled “Transforming the Millennium.” He noted that people often ask him the significance of the upcoming calendar change.
“I usually respond, for me it's nothing,” he said. “New millennium, new century, new year is just another day. The sun, the moon, the stars remain the same.”
But the Dalai Lama, exiled from his homeland of Tibet since 1959, was also serious, surveying the wars and violence of the 20th century. At a news conference before his speech he addressed what he says are the root causes of violence, especially among young people.
“The modern education system, they are really taking care of the development of the brain, but I think they're not paying enough attention to the development of warm hearts. And then family life, the atmosphere in the home is not very, I think, affectionate,” he said.
Mr. Seagal, who starred in Above the Law, Executive Decision, Under Siege, and is a student and teacher of Buddhism, spoke after the Dalai Lama. Dressed in a maroon silk jacket and jeans, he reiterated the Dalai Lama's message that all people are connected and dependent on one another.
“We're all the same,” he said. “We're all part of the same human race, we all share this planet, and if we understand that, that everything we think, everything we do, everything we say affects others, if you understand that, I think the world will be a better place.”
Although Mr. Seagal was one of many American Buddhists in the audience, the Dalai Lama discouraged such conversions.
“It is safer, better you here in the U.S. should preserve your own religions rather than change your traditions,” he said.
Then waving his hand toward the prominent converts, he added with another chuckle, “Of course, some of my friends here may be an exception.”
The Dalai Lama was welcomed by Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon, Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and an interfaith panel that included a rabbi, a nun and an imam, a Muslim cleric. Although he emphasized cooperation among faiths, he also said religion was not necessary for leading a good life.
“Religion is like medicine. Whenever you feel some pain, you take medicine. Similarly in daily life, when there's some crisis you're about to face, that's the moment to implement religious faith,” he said.
Two people missing as boats collide
Dalai Lama offers message of peace
Ohio tort reform struck down
Rats in all the wrong places - maybe yours
The ruling
Construction area watched
Newport's Bauer heartened by Iowa
Ramp key to ballpark
Taft praises school efforts
Tristate scenes: Bengals camp
Designer in run for Ky. quarter
Man sentenced to 18 years for shooting, robbery
N. Ky. chamber chief comes with list
Night football lost at Withrow
Residents meet with White Castle
Victim shows judge scars as slasher Johnson admits guilt
Woman's body found in old shed
Youth stabbed in Pleasant Ridge
ArtWorks not just painting by numbers
Church helps school solve parking problem
Decade-old prison lauded
Executive sentenced in attack of girlfriend
Friend to felines
Rudolph indicted in slayings
Anti-tax group targets fall levy
Church seeks OK for home for unwed moms
Different goals for Hamilton Co. levies
Fire levy on Liberty Twp. ballot
Lawson can go to trial in slaying
GET TO IT
Tristate digest
