Photograph of program from Wisdom and Compassion for Challenging Times.  c. C.Berg

I wish I could say that I touched him.  Or that he blessed a scarf that I offered to him.  But, not this time.  To be in his sacred presence, to be around his exuberance, had to be enough.  

 I woke up early Sunday morning in spite of the fact that I'd gotten in just before 2 a.m. because I joined in on the party with my friend Robin and her daughter Paige at a little bar called Bamboo 57 across from the post office.   I volunteered to go downstairs and get coffee for the weary partiers.

Morning rain drizzled over the New Yorkers crowded onto the sidewalks, hordes of early risers who lined the streets for a charity bicycle race through Times Square.  I was incredulous.  They were Awake.  

I got Starbucks ignoring Paige's addiction to  Dunkin' Doughnuts, and carried the coffees up the elevator to the room where Paige and Robin were  starting to move.  They were out later than I was, and had had a bit more to drink, but were ready to see the Dalai Lama.  

Going to see the Dalai Lama in New York was originally Robin's idea.  I read a magazine ad out-loud about his New York lecture as Robin looked over my shoulder.  "Let's Go,"  she said out of nowhere, and followed that up with, "Give me the phone number so I can make the reservations."   I said "Sure!" then briefly wondered if she was bipolar, too.

 She had ulterior motives.  She wanted to visit her mother who has been suffering from increasing dementia in Massachusetts, and she wanted to do something special for Paige on her high school graduation.  

Me?  I love to travel, and wanted to see the Dalai Lama.  I've admired this gentle monk from a distance for years. reading many of his books, and especially enjoying his popular "little" books like "The Pocket Dalai Lama,"  "The Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom,"  "The Dalai Lama's Book of Love & Compassion,"  "The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace."   They all  provide snippets of wisdom for a New Earth.  One of cooperation and compassion, not unlike the original Christian message.  

We headed downhill toward Times Square and the Town Hall where the Dalai Lama would speak, arriving an hour ahead of time.  There was already a winding line of couples and families waiting to pick up their tickets.  We had our tickets and were lucky enough to go right in.  

In the atrium, several monks in burgundy robes and a regular security guard stopped me and told me I could not bring a camera.  I checked it at the door.  

The security searched purses and bags, and we all went through a scanner.  It's hard to believe that the Dalai Lama would be under threat. I guess that any famous person, no matter how peaceful and wonderful can be a target in our confused world.  

We took our seats on the main floor, and waited and watched as the auditorium slowly filled.   A speaker began to talk on the microphone as people still filed into their seats.  No one paid any attention.  He announced that two musicians would play traditional Tibetan music and a Tibetan woman would sing.  They were all trained in Dharamasala, India where the exiled Tibetan community and the Dalai Lama resided.  They were taught in Center for Tibetan Culture an organization to preserve the traditional Tibetan arts keeping the culture alive.  

It was beautiful.  The woman sang in the minor seventh, wearing gold embroidered robes and a head dress.  They sang and played a number of songs, waiting for the party of His Holiness to arrive.   They were late, but not too late.

The music had stopped.  Suddenly there was a rustling in the audience and the entire auditorium rose to standing as if on cue.  No one had said anything...there was no "Hail to the Chief."  Just a powerful, silent uplifting of bodies, as the stooped robed monk,  Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and his entourage walked onto the stage.  There was a breathlessness in the audience as he put his hand to shade his eyes so he could look beyond the stage lights out over the crowd, spotting some he knew he would smile and wave like a child delighted to see a special friend.  When he finally sat in the simple seat cross-legged yoga posture on the overstuffed gold chair, the auditorium breathed out and sat down.   For the next hour and a half he would talk, answering questions, alternating with his friend Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland (1990-1997), and  former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002).

I wished I had brought a tape recorder to preserve the words of this humble man who spoke with such wisdom.  I prayed that I would be able to get a copy of the video being filmed, and took notes.

He spike in his heavily accented voice, always with a radiant grin, occasionally leaning over to consult his interpreter.  

Of difficulties he said, "Most things in your life come to teach you patience and compassion."

At another point he emphasized that we need a oneness in the global community.  The reality is that there is no longer a "we" and "they," in each country or between countries.  The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet there are some pockets of very poor.  How do we evolve a fair and equitable way of dealing with this?  When people are very poor, they have no house, no food, which translates into frustration, then angry action.  If we could provide them skills through education it would give them self-confidence.

He mentioned that Desmond Tutu says to see the good in everyone. When one person was questioned about why she wasted so much time talking to the poor,  she said that there is no better way to "waste time" than with people.  We need each other.  We need all species, we need the Earth.  All sentient beings, and the Earth, should have more rights.   

 When asked, " Why are the Chinese afraid of you?"  He said that the Chinese say they are liberators, but liberators should not bring misery to the people.  The people are unhappy and have resentment because they cannot worship their own way.  He asked us to please go and visit Tibet to see for ourselves.  Religion and spirituality are very important in this world.

He laughed many many times.  He said that the Tibetans are a very happy people.  

He laughed at the irony as he talked about all of  "All the military preparation for non-violence!"  

 "When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed Overnight!" Mystic, Connecticut  c. C.Berg 

We all stood again as the Dalai Lama rose to go.  I left the auditorium wanting more, wanting to know more about Tibet and the Dalai Lama, and wanting to experience Tibet and Dharamasala.  Wanting more.  Remembering another scroll on my wall:

NEVER GIVE UP

No matter what is going on

Never give up

Develop the heart.

Too much energy in your country

is spent developing the mind

Instead of the Heart.

Develop the heart

Be compassionate

Not just to your friends

but to everyone

Be compassionate

Work for peace

in your heart and in the world

Work for peace and I say again

Never give up

No matter what is happening

No natter what is going on around you

Never Give Up.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama