The 14th Dalai Lama will give a teaching titled “Finding Wisdom in the Modern World” in Bender Arena Saturday as part of his 10-day trip to Washington, D.C.
In his teaching, he will explain the traditional Buddhist wisdom pathway: View, Meditation and Action, according to the Web site of the Conservancy for Tibetan Art and Culture, the sponsor of the event. The teaching will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 a.m.
The Dalai Lama last visited and spoke at AU in 1998.
Campus security will be significantly increased on Saturday due to the Dalai Lama’s presence and the day’s events. As early as 6:30 a.m., heavy security presence and lines of guests are expected to enter campus, according to Today@AU.
Areas and businesses around Bender Arena, as well as parking and traffic, will be affected by the sold-out event, according to Today@AU. All drivers will be directed to the Nebraska Lot and Katzen Garage. The heaviest traffic is expected to be before and after the teaching.
The AU shuttle will run on a weekday schedule from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. to accommodate the large crowd, according to Today@AU.
The 14th Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet, a region in western China.
The Dalai Lama has said Tibet is independent and was colonized by China in 1949, while the Chinese government says it has held sovereignty over Tibet for centuries, according to the BBC’s online profile of the region. No country has openly disputed China’s claims to sovereignty.
Since the 1950s some Tibetans have been fighting for independence from China. The Dalai Lama, as their religious leader, has served as their figurehead. Tibet received massive international attention during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and earlier that year when a series of riots broke out.
The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in Tibet in 1935, according to the Dalai Lama’s Web site. By the time he turned two years old, he was recognized as the re-incarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. He assumed full political power in 1950 after China entered Tibet in 1949. Since failed talks with the Chinese government and a suppressed uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama has been living in exile in northern India, the current seat of the exiled Tibetan political administration, according to the Web site.
The first Dalai Lama was Gedun Drupa, born in 1391. In the past 600 years, fourteen Dalai Lamas have led the Tibetan people. They are thought to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara (also known as Chenrezig), the patron saint of Tibet and Bodhisattva of Compassion. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who postpone nirvana and undergo rebirth to serve humanity, according to the Dalai Lama’s Web site.
While tickets to the morning teaching are sold out, the event will be broadcast on Channel 14 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
A variety of free events will also take place around campus on Saturday.
Vendors will sell Buddhist and Tibetan religious items, clothing and arts and crafts outside of McKinley from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
After the Dalai Lama’s teaching, there will be an interfaith prayer service and celebration in the Woods-Brown Amphitheater from 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. It will feature dance, prayers and chants from Shinto, Mongolian, Theravadin and Hindu groups, among others. Vendors will sell items to support Tibet, and Follett, the company that supplies AU’s bookstore, will sell books written by the Dalai Lama and Buddhist scholars.
During an afternoon panel discussion, Buddhist scholars, philosophers, scientists and activists will summarize the Dalai Lama’s remarks and speak on how to incorporate Buddhist principles into everyday life. The free discussion, titled “Using Wisdom as the Heart of Change,” will be held at 2:00 p.m. in Bender Arena and is open to the public.
For more information on the Dalai Lama’s morning teaching visit www.dalailamadc09.com.
You can reach this staff writer at landerson@theeagleonline.com.
