last friday, i was given an opportunity of a lifetime. i got two complimentary reserved tickets to see the dalai lama talk on nonviolence. the last time his holiness was here was in 1994 and tickets for all 3 events had been sold out for months. i went with my sister-in-law's brother, dochi. he's a big buddhist and has a tibetan name that means being a rare diamond. we sat next to these vietnamese ladies who knew him, his tibetan name and how they met him. it was very cool.the talk was political and a bit on the dry side. but the q & a afterwards was great. words to describe being there and the dalai lama...
amazing. humble. hopeful. positive. intelligent. humorous. playful. genuine. so down-to-earth.
it was so wonderful to know that he didn't have all the answers (who does?). and that in the presence of such greatness, he just seemed like a sweet old man. especially with all that he's been through, being exiled from his home country, he was just so positive and made me want to be a better person.
