Dalai Lama's 2001 Message

Hallo... dug this up from my May 2001 archives, as the Dalai Lama visits California again this week. Here is: Journey to Another Dimension

The long awaited moment arrived on May 16th, 2001 with the entrance of the Dalai Lama onto the San Francisco Opera House stage. He touched on topics such as, compassion, happiness, anger, and hatred. He explained the benefits of positive actions and the drastic impact of negative emotions and actions. It was brief, but it was powerful enough to send me propelling onto another dimension and thirsting for more.

Over the next three days, in the midst of thousands of others who filled up the Mountain View Amphitheater, I listened to teachings from The Heart of Wisdom Sutra. The Dalai Lama provided an overview of Buddha’s teachings and Tibetan Buddhism, then moved on to explain form, emptiness, perfection of wisdom, and impermanence. I sat mesmerized as he elaborated on, form is empty, emptiness is form. Blending humorous stories into his teachings, he further captivated the audience who responded with cheers and laughter.

On my fifth day of journeying to another dimension, the Dalai Lama’s teachings focused on Medicine Buddha Empowerment. He performed ceremonies associated with taking the bodhisattva vows and seeking refuge in the Seven Medicine Buddhas. Prayers and offerings were made, but to hear the masses recite mantras together was most empowering. I could feel compassion and happiness in the air and wished for them to linger on. Ultimately, I departed back to my previous dimension repeating the Dalai Lama’s words, “My religion is simple, my religion is kindness” and I can still hear the soothing echo in my ears.

-zensufi-