His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday, May 8, 2011.
At the start of this year, I wrote a blog that details 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. I wrote this about one week before I turned 27 so I left myself with three years to accomplish these 30 goals.
On Sunday, May 8, I was able to accomplish goal #29 - seeing the Dalai Lama. It's the first item I've crossed off my list and I was pleasantly surprised to accomplish this one so quickly.
Only a few days prior to the Dalai Lama's visit to Minneapolis, one of my friends let me know that he was visiting Minnesota and that the Dalai Lama had a couple of public speaking events planned.
I quickly got online and purchased a $35 ticket for the Sunday morning speech/ceremony at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.
On Sunday I got up just before 6 a.m. and drove up to the Cities for the 9:30 a.m. event.
It was a very peaceful drive. I kept the radio off for most of the drive, relaxed and let my thoughts drift. I took off my shoes and drove barefoot.
A meditative, tranquil way to begin my soon-to-be eventful day.
After taking forever to find a parking spot (but eventually finding a free one!), I made my way to Mariucci Arena and got into line. There were hundreds in the line still at about 9:00 a.m. due to the strict security... I didn't get to my seat until just after 9:30 a.m.
The Dalai Lama had already begun speaking and I was glad to hear that he was speaking in English. I had been under the impression that most of the event would involve a Buddhist ceremony in Tibetan with English translations. However, the Dalai Lama surprised most of us by spending nearly 2 hours speaking (most in English) about Buddhism. Only the last 30 minutes involved the Tibetan ceremony, which was explained in English in great detail.
I was quite a ways from the stage but the two large projector screens allowed everyone in the arena to see the Dalai Lama's facial expressions very clearly.
He discussed complex Buddhist ideas like the no-self doctrine, the four noble truths, the eight-fold path, the relationship between Buddhist religion and modern science - it was utterly fascinating for me!
However, most of the people in the audience seemed to lose interest when he delved into the deeper topics. I can't blame them. I was lucky to have taken a few classes in college about Eastern religions and I've read about a dozen books about Buddhism and the Dalai Lama.
Regardless of one's capability to understand the theory of the Dalai Lama's lecture, everyone was transfixed by his presence alone.
He spoke to each of us as individuals.
Many mistakenly believe that Buddhists believe that Buddha was God. He was not.
He was a human being who saw that the reality of life was suffering and he discovered the way to transcend suffering by riding his mind of desire. He became enlightened and achieved Nirvana.
The incredible thing about Buddhism is that we can all become Buddhas. There was nothing special about the Buddha and he failed over and over again before he understood the truth of life.
Another thing I love about Buddhism is that, unlike Christianity, it doesn't even matter if the Buddha ever existed.
If the stories of the Buddha are mythical, it does not destroy the teachings of the Buddha. The teachings of the Buddha (which the Dalai Lama also teaches) are there for all of us.
We can all practice meditation and achieve tranquility. We can all act with compassion and non-violence. We can all look inward and see that suffering truly does come from desire.
We desire bigger houses, nicer clothes, more money, fancier cars and more pixels on our TVs.
But as we continue to strive to attain these things, we find they do not create happiness. In many cases, they cause suffering.
We work too many hours in order to buy these things. We sacrifice too many moments with friends and family. We find that the more we own, the more we are owned.
More bills. More warranty claims. More files to organize. More hassle. More things to fix.
The Dalai Lama reminded me that suffering comes from desire. As I rid myself of desire for objects and possessions, I free myself of much suffering.
I free myself to expand my mind and treat others with true compassion.
I end this blog with the words of George Harrison, who describes my beliefs with much more eloquence than I could ever hope to achieve:
"When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find, peace of mind,
Is waiting there-
And the time will come when you see
we're all one,
and life flows on within you and without you."
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
He discussed complex Buddhist ideas like the no-self doctrine, the four noble truths, the eight-fold path, the relationship between Buddhist religion and modern science - it was utterly fascinating for me!
However, most of the people in the audience seemed to lose interest when he delved into the deeper topics. I can't blame them. I was lucky to have taken a few classes in college about Eastern religions and I've read about a dozen books about Buddhism and the Dalai Lama.
Regardless of one's capability to understand the theory of the Dalai Lama's lecture, everyone was transfixed by his presence alone.
He spoke to each of us as individuals.
Many mistakenly believe that Buddhists believe that Buddha was God. He was not.
He was a human being who saw that the reality of life was suffering and he discovered the way to transcend suffering by riding his mind of desire. He became enlightened and achieved Nirvana.
The incredible thing about Buddhism is that we can all become Buddhas. There was nothing special about the Buddha and he failed over and over again before he understood the truth of life.
Another thing I love about Buddhism is that, unlike Christianity, it doesn't even matter if the Buddha ever existed.
If the stories of the Buddha are mythical, it does not destroy the teachings of the Buddha. The teachings of the Buddha (which the Dalai Lama also teaches) are there for all of us.
We can all practice meditation and achieve tranquility. We can all act with compassion and non-violence. We can all look inward and see that suffering truly does come from desire.
We desire bigger houses, nicer clothes, more money, fancier cars and more pixels on our TVs.
But as we continue to strive to attain these things, we find they do not create happiness. In many cases, they cause suffering.
We work too many hours in order to buy these things. We sacrifice too many moments with friends and family. We find that the more we own, the more we are owned.
More bills. More warranty claims. More files to organize. More hassle. More things to fix.
The Dalai Lama reminded me that suffering comes from desire. As I rid myself of desire for objects and possessions, I free myself of much suffering.
I free myself to expand my mind and treat others with true compassion.
I end this blog with the words of George Harrison, who describes my beliefs with much more eloquence than I could ever hope to achieve:
"When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find, peace of mind,
Is waiting there-
And the time will come when you see
we're all one,
and life flows on within you and without you."
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
