His Holiness the Dalai Lama Teaches on Compassion in New York CityTuesday, 5 May 2009, 8:58 a.m.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama gives discourse on Quintessence of Compassion organised by Tibet House in New York on 4 May 2009/Photos:OHHDL

New York: His
Holiness the Dalai Lama’s second day in New York City was devoted to a
day long teaching on “Quintessence of Compassion,” organized by New
York-based Tibet House.In the morning His Holiness departed for
Beacon Theatre, the venue of the teaching. At the onset His Holiness
explained the basis of his teaching and said he was not a supporter of
conversion of people from one faith to another.After a
recitation of the Heart Sutra in English by some monks, His Holiness
devoted the morning session to give an overview of the Middle Way
school and on the contribution of the Buddhist master Nagarjuna to the
development of Buddhist thoughts in India. His Holiness said that
Tibetans referred to Nagarjuna and Arya Asanga as two great chariots.His
Holiness said that the author of the text, “Entry into the Middle Way”,
Chandrakirti, was said by some to be direct disciple of Nagarjuna. The
first chapter of this text was on compassion and was the subject of
today’s teachings.His Holiness had lunch at the venue itself.

In the
afternoon session, His Holiness explained some of the verses of the
text relating to the cause of suffering, about the nature of
compassion, and about the quality and capacity of the Bodhisattva. His
Holiness explained that compassion lies at the root of all the
teachings of the Buddha.Tomorrow, the Office of Tibet is
hosting a meeting between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and nearly one
hundred Chinese friends. This meeting is being organized because
several Chinese democracy activists, scholars, and writers have
expressed interest in meeting His Holiness during this visit to the
United States. His Holiness has always been interested in meeting
Chinese brothers and sisters to exchange views with them on matters of
common interest.On Wednesday His Holiness will visit Albany,
the capital of New York state, to give a public talk on “Compassionate
Ethics in Difficult Times”.  This will be his last public program
before returning to India.–-Report filed by Bhuchung K Tsering of ICT(Please find the following correction to yesterday’s report
about the financial statement by the Tibetan Association of New York
& New Jersey. The writer had inadvertently added a 0 in the middle
thus altering the total value. The total approximate income is $ 306,
590 and the total estimated expense was $ 150, 000 with the balance
being $256, 590, which will be used for the proposed Tibetan Cultural
Center.)