His Holiness the Dalai Lama calls for ‘Century of Peace’[The Globe and Mail]Wednesday, 30 September 2009, 8:49 a.m.

We Day assembly in GM Place addressed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and activist Craig Kielburger (R) Tuesday, 29 September in Vancouver/Photo Credit: The Vancouver Sun

Dharamshala: “The
future of the century is in your hands. Please, take care of it,” His
Holiness the Dalai Lama told a crowd of 16,000 youngsters who thronged
a Vancouver’s hockey arena for “We Day” event on Tuesday. The We Day event is
designed to inspire social change among young people.Emphasising
his points with passionate hand gestures, His Holiness the Dalai Lama
called on the youth of today to do a better job in the 21st century
than his generation did with the last one.“You are the seeds of
a better future,” His Holiness told them. “The 20th century had the
most bloodshed ever. More than 200 million human beings killed through
violent action. All were people just like us.”It was time for a
century of peace, a century of compassion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama
declared, as whoops and cheers echoed through GM Place and camera
flashes lit up its darkened corners.“Make the world very safe,
very peaceful, very happy. You are the key generation to make that
happen. There are still 91 years left. The future of the century is in
your hands. Please, take care of it.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addresses the crowd on We Day at GM Place.

His
Holiness the Dalai Lama was the most prominent of a dazzling array of
speakers at the celebratory We Day event for young people, organized by
Craig and Marc Kielburger’s Free the Children charity. The roster
included Mia Farrow, Jane Goodall, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean and
Nobel Laureate Betty Williams.Lacing his message with humour,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama also advised students not to take their
textbooks and teachers at face value. “Read and listen. Then, make your
investigation. If you just accept everything, then your brain is
wasted.”Afterward, the kids were more than all right with their elderly Tibetan teacher.“Awesome,” said 16-year-old Laura Goncalves. “He gives off so much energy, and he’s funny. He was really inspiring.”Echoed
schoolmate Jasmine Singh: “He was better than our teachers at school. I
expected it to be boring, but he was entertaining. I liked his message
that we can change the world by changing ourselves and helping others.
We shouldn’t just sit around eating junk food all the time.”

Performance by Tibetan Traditional performers at We Day.

“He was really amazing,” said Daniel Shearer, 15. “He seemed very humble, but you could see he was very wise. He was great.”Awe was not confined to those under 20. Among those transfixed was Mia Farrow.“Guess
what? I got to meet the Dalai Lama,” she gushed to reporters. “It was a
real rush. I’m still getting over it. He was backstage and he just
brought this something. … Everyone stopped. He seemed to transcend
everything. Just by being around him, we all felt we had to try to be
the best that we could be.”“My life has not been an easy one.
At age 16, I lost freedom [when Chinese troops occupied Tibet.] At age
24, I lost my country. I remain as a refugee,” His Holiness the Dalai
Lama said. While some constructive things have taken place under China,
Tibetans, he said, still live constantly in fear.Yet His
Holiness the Dalai Lama said he continues to have compassion for “those
narrow-minded Communists. They, too, are part of the world’s six
billion human beings. We must respect them and have concern for their
well-being. That is what having a sense of compassion means. It’s for
everyone.”

We Day assembly of young people in GM Place Tuesday.

Singer
Sarah McLachlan also appeared at the event. She confessed later,
however, to falling short of fully embracing His Holiness the Dalai
Lama’s message, noting how he talked warmly of the compassion felt by
mothers, including his own, for their children.“I was racing
around with my two kids to get out the door this morning, and I yelled
at my 7-year-old. I guess I didn’t do it [compassion] so well.”