Public Greet His Holiness with Standing Ovation, Warm Smile from Archbishop
Gothenburg 12 June 2005: His Holiness the Dalai Lama was twice given standing ovation this evening in this second largest city of Sweden, as he entered and left the Scandinavium indoor auditorium after participating in a lively public dialogue on “Looking for Meaning in the Present World” with Archbishop K.G. Hammar, the head of the country’s Christian church.
The dialogue, moderated by the well known Swedish TV presenter and author Ms. Annika Hangstrom, was attended by nearly 7,000 people according to organisers, who said hundreds of people bought tickets only hours before the commencement of the event. The presentation was translated by Ms. Malin Ekstrand, whose fine translation especially of the funny and interesting comments shared by the two religious leaders received much applause from the audience.
From the dialogue that ensued, it was apparent that both the Archbishop and His Holiness, who is regarded as the world’s most prominent and respected Buddhist leader, shared openness and respect for each others religious traditions. They also shared the view that through different religious approaches they could learn from each others experiences.
“I know that some Christian brothers and sisters have learned from Buddhism some techniques on how to cultivate compassion and patience. Christian brothers and sisters lead a simple life and are very practical in providing social services and education,” His Holiness said.
The Archbishop, who also mentioned about his awareness of the Tibetan situation, told the audience that he was pleased to meet with His Holiness because of his unassuming nature despite having won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
“Your Holiness, you are really a global person, one of the few not trying to dominate the world but to serve the world and for that we are grateful,” Archbishop Hammar said.
His Holiness, to the delight of the audience responded by saying that he would describe the Archbishop firstly as a fellow human being, then as a person with a genuine smile and finally for the position that he held.
When Ms. Hangstrom drew His Holiness’ attention to his best-seller book, “Ethics for the New Millennium”, His Holiness said that since the majority of the people in the world did not believe in religion, he felt there was a need to encourage the promotion of secular ethics or human action that produces happiness, which we all want.
“We do not want pain. We all want happiness,” His Holiness said, adding that “animals do not have religion” but they too want to lead a happy life.
With reference to happiness, Archbishop Hammar to the surprise of many in the audience said that in the Christian bible there is no mention of the word “happiness”. “In our church it was used 20 years ago,” he said.
“The dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop was very lively and interesting. Even I did not know that the word happiness was not in the bible,” the anchorwoman of Swedish TV4, Malo von Sivers, who also attended the event, told this writer.
Stressing that that material progress alone is no guarantee for a happy and contended life, His Holiness stressed the need to look at situations from a wider perspective rather than from a narrow, self-centered perspective, which His Holiness added that even accordingly to a scientific study is a cause of “heart attack”.
The Tibetan Nobel Laureate’s presence in Gothenburg was widely known with even the city administration announcing its welcome on the electric sign board displayed strategically on the motorway between the airport and the city centre.
Katarina Malmer, who runs the Malmer Communication involved in the production of the evening’s public event said, “This is not a commercial announcement but a free service provided by the city administration to also inform the people about His Holiness’ visit. I think this is very encouraging and shows how significant His Holiness’visit is to the city”.
Erik Lenken who had come to hear His Holiness all the way from northern Sweden said that the young people find much inspiration from the Tibetan leader’s message of hope and encouragement to indulge in positive actions.
“I have read most of His Holiness’ books and he has helped me to live a better life and to treat others well. He is my hero, he is my saviour,” the 19-year-old Lenken said, adding, “I wish there were more Tenzin Gyatsos in the world.” (His Holiness the14th Dalai Lama also is known by the Tibetan name Tenzin Gyatso).
Mr. Tenzin Geyche Tethong, who has been the Secretary to His Holiness for the last 40 years, told this writer that the evening’s event was very much in tune with His Holiness’ efforts to promote dialogue among the various religious traditions and also to bring more inter-religious harmony.
“Everyone seems to say it went very well. I think we should also give credit for the success of this event to the Archbishop. He has been very open about other religious traditions and receptive to His Holiness’ thinking. The dialogue is important and it helped to create better awareness and understanding,” Mr. Tethong said.
Mrs. Kesang Y. Takla, who as the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Northern Europe, is accompanying His Holiness on this trip, expressed satisfaction at the success of the programme for which she has been closely working with organisers since the time they submitted their formal invitation in 2003.
“His Holiness had a very constructive and meaningful dialogue with the Archbishop. They covered several topics and discussed these from different angles, which the audience appreciated very much judging by all the applause in between,_ Mrs. Takla said. “After the event some people came to say how much they enjoyed and benefited from the dialogue between His Holiness and the Archbishop.”
Earlier in the day His Holiness gave a joint audience to more than 70 people representing the Association of Tibetan Buddhism in Gothenburg, Vietnamese Culture Centre and the Tibetan Community in Sweden. He also separately met with representatives of the Center for Cognitive Psychotherapy at whose invitation he was in Gothenburg for this programme with the Archbishop and tomorrow will be addressing their International Congress of Psychotherapy, which according to them will be attended by some 1400 participants, mostly scientists and teachers, from over 40 countries and all the continents.
Report courtesy of the Office of Tibet, London