By Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo
HE is the hottest ticket in town … and hailed the most significant religious visitor to Liverpool since Pope John Paul ll in 1982.
An audience of more than 2,000 was due to hear the Tibetan spiritual leader deliver a lecture about moral-ity at Liverpool Cathedral today.
Demand to see the exiled Dalai Lama was so high that about 1,000 people ended up on a waiting list in the vain hope of a ticket holder dropping out.
The 68-year-old Tibetan monk and Nobel Peace Prize winner is in the UK for a week. After today’s visit he is due to fly to London in a private jet, sponsored by Liverpool solicitor Rex Makin, to talk to the House of Lords.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, eight years after Beijing’s Communist troops occupied the mountain state following an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. He has lived in exile ever since.
Last month the ECHO reported how the Chinese government complained to organisers about today’s visit, and claimed it could cause problems for Liverpool’s close links with Shanghai.
While in Liverpool, he was answering a long-held invitation to accept an honorary fellowship from John Moores University and give a Roscoe citizenship lecture.
He was also set to answer questions from the audience, although only five or six of the 500-600 submitted in writing, were likely to be chosen.
He was then set to attend a civic lunch at the town hall with faith leaders and city dignitaries. Inside the cathedral, the Dalai was being met by leaders of Merseyside’s Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Islamic faith communities.
JMU Professor Lord Alton said: “In a world riven by confrontation, and where religion can often be a force for hatred, to draw together leaders who stand for co-existence and respect for others is a wonderful thing.”
What you need toknow about Buddhism
* Buddha means enlightened one.
* There are different Buddhist traditions including Indian, south east Asian and Tibetan.
* Buddhism is concerned with following the noble eight-fold path of enlightenment – right belief, resolve, speech, conduct, occupation, effort, contemplation and meditation.
* Buddhist teaching includes the law of karma – cause and effect, belief in reincarnation, the four Noble Truths, and the goal of life, which is nirvana.
* Liverpool has three Tibetan Buddhist communities: The Dechen group is part of the Sakya and Karma-Kagyu schools, the Diamond Way group follows the Karma-Kagyu tradition, while the Duldzin group is part of the new Kadampa tradition.
The Dalai Lama’s books include the Little Book of Buddhism, the Little Book of Wisdom, and Freedom in Exile.
* Call the Dechen community on 0151-722 7649, Duldhzin on 726 8900, Diamond Way on 222 3543
