His Holiness Made Suprise Visit to Woodstock
Monday, 25 September 2006, 9:30 a.m.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Woodstock, NY |
Woodstock (NY): His Holiness the Dalai Lamaoffered a public address on world peace in the afternoon of 22 September at Andy Lee Field.
The event drew thousands, all by word of mouth. The last-minute public address was a “gift to the people of Woodstock” Supervisor Jeremy Wilber said, coming between the Dalai Lama’s acceptance of an honorary doctorate in Buffalo and a three-day sold-out teaching event in New York City.
The sound check was by a woman giggling into a microphone, preparing for the laughter that would punctuate the spiritual leader’s talk. As the crowd swelled across the baseball field, a quieter crowd marked by tombstones overlooked the event from a hillside cemetery.
“There’s the final destination, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, gesturing toward the cemetery. “But before reaching there, you should live a meaningful life.”
His talk focused on the human values of affection and compassion that create real bonds in families and communities.
“I call these things human values, because they don’t come from religion, constitutions or education. It is from birth,” His Holiness the Dalai Lama said.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the practice of compassion has helped cultivate his inner strength. He encouraged people of all religions to join together in harmony, citing the value of religion in society worldwide.
“All traditions teach love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance and discipline, perhaps with a different presentation, but the same inside,” the Dalai Lama said, “God teaches us to love God and other people. Those who cause trouble in the world, their love for God is questionable. Different spiritual masters preach wonderful things and reduce human suffering, not create it.”
The thousands of people who showed up spontaneously for the event often had little more than a day’s notice because of tight security by the U.S. State Department and the Office of Tibet.
Crowds funneled past a white van, not realizing it was an X-ray machine, checking for weapons without so much as a conveyor belt or magnetic archway to walk through. The mellow attendees clapped for the bomb-sniffing dogs after they successfully scanned the press and stage area.
Peter Beckmann of Heidelberg, Germany, happened to be in town as part of his tour of the Northeast. He heard of the event that morning and took a nap on a blanket for an hour before the event began.
Debbie Zimmer of Marbletown came to shop and wondered why she couldn’t find parking. Destiny had more in mind for her than a new dress and she headed to the field. “I’m supposed to be here,” she said.
It is his first visit to Woodstock and the public address fell on the United Nations International Day of Peace.
Times Herald-Record