So what was it like, to hear the Dalai Lama speak you may ask. Hmmmm.... I am glad I attended if for no other reason than it was a chance to be close to a man who has been a symbol of peace and tolerance for nearly a half century. His demeanor is unassuming, kind, all inclusive, nonviolent, thoughtful and wise. For me and for most people in the audience the biggest surge of clapping in agreement came close to the beginning of his talk when he spoke of the need for disarmament of both the external; such as elimination of nuclear weapons, as well as internal disarmament; to not let emotions of fear and suspicion take control of our interactions with others. I was also in total agreement with his call for the 21st Century to be one of dialog at all levels: family, work place, community, country and world. "Amen!" I feel like there is far too little intentional listening, and thoughtful responding going on in this world.
One of the best parts of the entire production was hearing the teen aged ambassadors speak their truth on how to live more compassionately. I felt very proud to be a teacher (even though K is FAR from high school, the seed starts with me in some respects since most kids start writing as kindergartners)
Now for what I didn't like:
-Sure wish I had brought my binoculars. The 300 level is way up there.
-Did all the introductory speakers need to be so long winded?
-The attention His Holiness gave to our governor, Christine Gregoire, looked like it was staged for a political ad...I did not like that at all!
-There was caramel corn, hot dogs and all the usual vendors around the stadium. That struck me as strange and gave the event a carnival appearance.
-The echo from the sound system was TERRIBLE! I was so happy to read about the event in today's Seattle Times because at least 25% of it was unintelligible to my ears.
-The bead bracelets that we were supposed to weave on each others' wrists to show our commitment to sowing 'seeds of compassion'; struck me as kind of a dopey, half baked idea in an attempt to bring everyone together. The crowd was not intimate enough for this to work in my opinion. The bracelet is a nice souvenir, though.
4 comments:
Still wonderful that you can say you heard him speak. Great site. I'm a neighbor from Magnolia neighborhood.
Even from Zambia, we tracked this visit - I have talked a lot with my aunt (who works with preschool teachers) a lot about the DL's 'seeds' curriculum.
We are really missing your classroom and everything that comes with it and now I see your gardening work and am really missing spring and all my cherry trees, todd's peach tree, the lilacs and everything Owen and I planted before we left. I think the Dl/ gardening connection is not lost on you. Kindergarteners most certainly need this compassion seed planted....I just wish we could have brought you along with us.
What an experience, to be there and hear Him speak, ven if there were a few hiccups. Wow. I'm sure the memory will stay with you for a long time.
Your garden looks beautiful. Maybe you can help me with identifying the two trees in my new garden- they're full of colour but I have no idea what they are!
Glad to be back, I've missed reading here!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this event. I especially enjoyed reading about The Dalai Lama's idea of "internal disarmament". Very interesting indeed.
Sorry to hear about the "Cons" of the event though. How weird to have a carnival feel at a spiritual event. Strange.
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