By: Elisabeth Steinhardt
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Melanie Cilfone
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama spoke of compassion and friendship and the message of love throughout the world and throughout different religions.
Yesterday, Nov. 17, at 2:30 p.m., His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, who is the head of state and the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, visited Salve to meet with longtime friends Senator and Mrs. Pell. His Holiness also addressed members of Salve’s student body, faculty and members of the community with a lecture entitled, “A Human Approach to World Peace.” A huge white circus-like tent situated on the back lawn of Ochre Court along the Cliff Walk created a serene setting for the Dalai Lama’s lecture and its 4,000 attendees. On a beautifully sunny, crisp fall day, a speech about world peace, friendship, compassion and goodness seemed all too perfect. When everyone was in their seats, and the secret service agents, body guards, police and security officers were in their spots hovering over every entrance and along every aisle, it was time for the Dalai Lama to make his entrance. Walking through the tent and down the center aisle, the Dalai Lama brought with him an amazing aura that left audience members in awe, and some in tears. During his walk to the stage, the Dalai Lama stopped to shake the hands of audience members. Once he was on stage, Sister M. Therese Antone, president of Salve Regina, introduced the Dalai Lama and spoke of his mission of nonviolence, peacefulness and justice. President Antone also mentioned that yesterday was declared a day of peace and reflection campus-wide. “The true goal of education is wisdom,” President Antone said of the Dalai Lama’s beliefs on education. “Education prepares us to go beyond knowledge.” Once it was time for the presentation of “A Human Approach to World Peace,” the Dalai Lama and his interpreter Thubten Jinpa, stood alongside each other at the podium. After stating how honored he was to be at Salve, he showed how lighthearted and fun-spirited he could be as he joked with the audience about the turbulent plane ride on his trip to Rhode Island that morning. The Dalai Lama then spoke about his main mission. “Peace, I believe, is deep down compassion and friendship,” he said. Many times during his speech, he spoke of his “dear friend” Senator Claiborne Pell, testifying to the unbelievably strong relationship the two men have had since first meeting in 1979. He then spoke of world peace causing inner peace and said this inner peace creates confidence. The Dalai Lama also said how strong anger and hatred destroy this inner peace and how these negative things [anger and hatred] in our minds lead to bad decisions. The Dalai Lama said people should try to dispense of negative emotions because “there are so many constructive emotions like compassion.” Furthermore he said, “Compassion and hate are opposite forces.contradictory emotions.” Therefore, he suggested, compassion is, in a sense, a kind of closeness and it is a self-centered motivation. “Unbiased. That’s compassion,” the Dalai Lama said, summing up his point. Compassion, the Dalai Lama added, can be seen throughout world religions, so long as we all have the same message with an emphasis on a peaceful existence. “Once the inner self becomes more compassionate, then one can achieve inner peace,” he said. “Genuine world peace comes from this.” The Dalai Lama also made it a point to end his speech by addressing Salve students directly, stating that the younger generation is full of enthusiasm and brightness. “You are the generation that can shape the 21st century,” he said encouragingly. “You can say our generation made this world more peaceful.” The third portion of the lecture was when the Dalai Lama answered pre-submitted and pre-selected questions from Salve’s students. The first question was “If you could teach a child one things, what would it be?” to which he answered, “I think it would have to be compassion!” This sent out a roar of laughter from the crowd, finding is amusing that after an hour of listening about compassion, the Dalai Lama’s response would be about, of all things, compassion. The next question was “What would put an end terrorism?” The Dalai Lama said he didn’t have an answer to that question, but said “that question comes from a mind full of idealism.” Another question, “You serve as a great inspiration to others, but who inspires you? The Dalai Lama said the Buddha, Buddhist monks and Mother Theresa. And the last question, “Where do you get the strength to face all of the suffering you see everyday?” The Dalai Lama responded, “We have the capacity to help suffering, illness and death. We are the creators of this suffering, we must have answers.” Lastly, President Antone presented the Dalai Lama with The Claiborne Pell Center Award for “peaceful resolution of conflict in the world because he consistently displays compassion in his efforts for peace and nonviolence.” Junior Business Administration major and ROTC cadet Chuck Burkardt said, “He took the time, as a major religious figure, to go to a university. That meant so much. He’s trying to spend his time to spread his message of nonviolence. That really means a lot.” Burkardt was also among the lucky ones who shook hands with the Dalai Lama. “Shaking his hand was something I didn’t expect,” he added. Senior Marketing major Jon Pritchard said, “It was great because he was walking to us (students) instead of just the audience as a whole.”
