Exhibit Revisits His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Historic VisitFriday, 24 October 2008, 10:36 a.m.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is greeted by Alice                                        P. Gast, President of Lehigh University prior to                                         addressing the faculty and the public at a lecture on the                                        campus of Lehigh University Sunday, 13 July 2008,                                         in Bethlehem, Pa./File Photo

On 7 July, His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and conferred a six-day lecture series on Tsongkhapa’s masterpiece on the stages of spiritual evolution.The collection includes memorabilia from this visit and items from events held in preparation for his visit, which include a slideshow of the sand mandala created by monks in the rotunda of Linderman in October. “I think it was an extraordinary thing to have a person of his values and orientation in our midst – a person committed to compassion, peace, and cooperation,” said professor Lloyd Steffen in an e-mail. Steffen was co-chair of the committee responsible for preparations during the year prior to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit.Steffen said he believes the event was a success and a great moment in Lehigh history.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches from Tsongkhapa’s masterpiece on the stages                     on spiritual evolution at Lehigh Universit, PA.

“I am still receiving comments of appreciation from people grateful that Lehigh made the effort to make this visit happen,” Steffen said.In his opening remarks at the unveiling of the exhibition at Linderman, Steffen said even today we are unable to appreciate the Dalai Lama’s criticism of the spiritual and moral problems of our lives. These criticisms present too much of a challenge to the way we live and what we value to even hear them or take them seriously, Steffen said.Matt DiPisa, said he didn’t know much about His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the ideals he stood for before arriving at Lehigh.”It’s really important for college students to understand the cultural and historical significance of such a figure as prominent as His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” DiPisa said. “There’s an awareness among students of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s ideas that definitely didn’t exist beforehand.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama address a crowd at a                                           public lecture on the campus of Lehigh University                                           following his receiving and Honorary Degree Sunday,                                           July 13, 2008, in Bethlehem, Pa./AP

In efforts to educate students on Tibet, Buddhism and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lehigh offered lectures and spring and summer semester courses that focused on these topics. Alexa Naas, took advantage of these opportunities by enrolling in a class about Buddhism. “The class ended up changing how I view life in general. I now see things from a different perspective,” Naas said.Other students said they felt the Buddhist presence on campus as they watched monks create the sacred sand mandala in Linderman. “I watched them work hard all week just to destroy their masterpiece. It showed me that objects in life are impermanent.” said Sri Rao, ’11.Lehigh students also got a taste of Tibetan food through a series of monthly Tibetan lunches served in the dining halls. Jon Abramson, ’09, said he went out of his way to try the cuisine at Rathbone.”I think it’s great that Lehigh made such an effort to ensure a true learning experience for all of us, even those who weren’t able to be here when His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited,” Abramson said.