His Holiness brings Message of Peace and Compassion
Thursday, 17 July 2008, 2:55 p.m.
Philadelphia: His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the smiling human
face of Eastern spirituality for many in the West, brought his message
of compassion and peace yesterday to Philadelphia.
 Afterlecturing at the Kimmel Center, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (R) is surprised with a birthday cake and song. His Holiness turned 73 on 6 July. (CLEM MURRAY / Inquirer Staff Photographer) |
His Holiness began his daylong visit at the Kalmyk Buddhist
Temple in the Feltonville section, praying solemnly with monks, and
ended it by blowing out a candle on a birthday cake at the Kimmel
Center as the audience sang “Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you. Thank you,” His Holiness said, laughing and
clasping his hands in a bow to the sold-out crowd. His Holiness turned
73 on 6 July.
His Holiness was in the region at the invitation of the area’s
Kalmyk community, a population of immigrants of Mongolian Buddhist
heritage who sent him word two years ago that they needed his help in
reacquainting their young people with their religious and ethnic roots.
His Holiness’ core message to the Kalmyks – and everyone else
in his audiences – was that ritual observance alone does not make a
person a good Buddhist. “It is very, very essential to study Buddhist
philosophy,” he said, and to practice kindness and compassion.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived at Northeast Airport by
helicopter from Bethlehem, Pa., where he had given five days of
lectures at Lehigh University, and was greeted by a crowd of about 300
shortly after 9 a.m. outside the modest Kalmyk temple on East Courtland
Street.
His Holiness acknowledged them with bows and smiles as he
emerged from his limousine, and he accepted several traditional
offerings of Buddhist images – which he returned – before entering the
temple’s lavishly decorated interior.
After prostrating himself three times before an image of the
Buddha, he sat down on a mat surrounded by the monks and led them in
prayer for about 10 minutes.
With their low voices filling the room, images of Buddhas
gazing down from the red-and-gold walls, incense wafting through the
air, and prayer wheels and mandalas and little bronze pagodas crowding
the altar and tabletops, it was a timeless scene that could have been
Tibet centuries ago.
After prayers, His Holiness the Dalai Lama sat atop a high,
cushioned seat and greeted the monks in Tibetan, asking them questions
for about 10 more minutes and making jokes that sent them into bursts
of laughter.
His Holiness then walked out of the temple and into the adjacent Kalmyk community center, where he greeted about 150 people.
The Buddhism practiced in Mongolia “is the same Tibetan
Buddhism,” His Holiness assured them, and told them that some of his
finest teachers growing up in Tibet had been Mongols or Kalmyks. The
latter are ethnic Mongols who migrated to Southern Russia about 400
years ago. About 2,000 live in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South
Jersey.
“Now it is very, very important to transmit our culture to the
younger generation,” His Holiness told them, but cautioned that
traditional dance and music and participation in occasional Buddhist
festivals were not enough.
His Holiness urged them to study the texts of Buddhism and
practice meditation, and to “keep in close contact” with one another.
“Cooperation is essential,” he said.
His Holiness then shook hands with members in the front row and
clasped shoulders as he exited the room. He even yanked playfully on
the beard of a middle-aged Hindu Brahman from Center City, who gave his
name as V. Sharad. “He pulled hard,” said Sharad, who laughed.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama then stood under a yellow canopy
outside the temple and answered prepared questions for about 20 minutes
before saying “thank you” in English and Russian and climbing into his
limousine.
“He’s awesome,” said a 20-year-old woman from South Jersey who gave her name only as Olesya.
“It’s an honor to be in his presence,” said Zandan Urusow, 63, from Harleysville. “That’s why we’re here.”
The program at the center began with about a half-hour of
Mongolian songs and dances and Tibetan Buddhist chanting before he
appeared on stage.
“Hello. Hello, everybody. I am very happy to be here once more
in this famous city,” he said, and recalled the last time he had been
to Philadelphia, in 1990.
His Holiness had been taken to see “the Bell of Liberty,” which had “some crack” in it, he said with a laugh.
His Holiness touched on some of the more esoteric features of
Tibetan Buddhism, including the notion of “interdependence,” or
multiple factors, as the causes for events.
To illustrate his point, he chided President Bush for attacking
Iraq because Saddam Hussein was pure evil “when, in reality, it was not
that simple.”
“The Buddhist view is interdependence,” His Holiness said. “The Buddhist practice is compassion.”
–Reproduced from Philadelphia Inquirer, www.philly.com. Reporting by David O’Reilly
