His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks to the heart of Madison
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Madison: Marking his seventh visit to Wisconsin, His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke to a mostly packed Dane County Coliseum on Saturday, the opening event of a week-long series of talks and teachings in and around Madison. His Holiness arrived on Friday, and started his visit with a consecration of a new temple at the Deer Park Buddhist Center in the town of Oregon on Saturday morning.
The region has long enjoyed a close relationship with the Tibetan Buddhist community. Geshe Lhundub Sopa, a tenured professor at the UW-Madison, has been instrumental in growing the community not only in Madison, but around the United States as well. Originally sent His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962 to help bring Tibetan Buddhism to the US, Sopa went on to found the Deer Park center in 1975. Between activities there and the arrival of several exiled Tibetan families to Wisconsin in 1992, the area has been visited regularly by the His Holiness the Dalai Lama ever since.
As the most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's message is one of compassion and peace.
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During his talk on Saturday, His Holiness also emphasized the importance of finding the positives in otherwise tragic situations. His Holiness noted that the exile from his home country has allowed him to travel the world and learn about many different religious and cultural traditions. His Holiness is particularly interested in the sciences and has developed relationships with several researchers, insisting that there are many similarities between the discoveries of science and the teachings of Buddhism, and that science and religion in general should never be mutually exclusive.
During a short question and answer session after his talk, His Holiness was asked what the source of his strength was in the face of trouble. His honest and straight-forward answer of "Good food, good sleep," was met with many laughs and applause. This simple sense of humor was present throughout his entire speech, with several light-hearted remarks and playful gestures punctuating the two-hour-long session.
The crowd assembled for the talk was diverse, with everyone from the Tibetan American community to curious onlookers and even several people from other states and nations gathering to take in the wisdom of this self-described "simple peasant" who has led a most extraordinary life.
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama's central message was one of compassion and trust. His Holiness emphasized the importance of giving children a nurturing environment in which to be raised, the need for everyone to have patience, and to always work hard to be more understanding of others. His Holiness called for forgiveness of those who do one wrong, but added "forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting, or accepting one's wrong-doings. In some cases, you need confrontation to stop the wrong-doing, but it should include concern and compassion for the wrong-doer."
Perhaps now more than ever, this message becomes particularly important -- certainly for those working toward Tibetan autonomy, but also for a world torn by conflict at all corners.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visit to Madison continues with several teaching sessions throughout week, culminating with a Long Life Prayer Offering known as Tenshug and a public celebration on Thursday, July 24 back at the Coliseum.
--Reproduced from Isthmus/The Daily Page, www.thedailypage.com. Reporting by Emily Mills
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