Dalai Lama, Radio City Music Hall, NYC Oct 2007

This will probably be the only time in my life that I will be in a huge crowd of people trying to enter a sold out lecture in one of the largest cities in the world, and feel such a sense of calm and peace!  That set the tone for a wonderful 2 hour lecture by the Dalai Lama. He spent about 20 minutes time up front talking about how "not special" he is and that he is simply a man with 73 years of life experience that help him to make observations. That made everything he said after even more important - he does not want to be revered as some superhuman being or healer. He does not want to be viewed as some religious icon. Instead, he spoke of committments that he has made in his life and the value of peace and prosperity for every HUMAN on this planet. He spoke of Buddhism as his spiritual approach, but that he is a member of the human race and that is how he looks at resolving issues in the world. And despite the many unspeakable acts of violence and war in our world, he spoke of HOPE, and how he believes in it and that we as humans are moving into a better time in our world. For me, this was electrifying because our media focuses so much on the hatred in our world; he took time to focus on so much of the beauty, collaboration, love, vision.  His presence was soothing, calming and simply made me feel warm and safe. It was a moment in time that I will remember for a very long time, and I felt honored to have been there. It was even more moving as I am a little more than halfway through Awakening the Buddha Within, and each word is resonating.  Ah, serenity!
By the way, has anyone discovered Jetsunma's music? I have been listening to it a lot while I work and find it very soothing.  The songs contain Tibetan Mantra and her voice is delightful!