PISCATAWAY — When the Dalai Lama comes to Rutgers Stadium next month, he will not resemble most major religious figures or Western politicians.
So says Rutgers English Professor Kurt Spellmeyer, who is participating in the planning of the event.
“His is a different style from what we’re used to,” Spellmeyer said. “He will not try to sell us something. He does not want our vote. He does not lay down the law and say, ‘Here’s the way to live.’ ”
So far, more than 23,000 people have bought tickets to see the Buddhist leader.
So what kind of person will they, and thousands of others who are likely to go, encounter and what kind of message will they hear?
“He is like the good parent who tells you, ‘I believe in you. I’m sure you can do the right thing,’ ” said Spellmeyer, who also is a Zen Buddhist teacher with a congregation based in Piscataway.
The Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize and spiritual head of the Tibet government-in-exile, will speak at Rutgers Stadium Sept. 25 on the topic “Peace, War and Reconciliation.”
The Dalai Lama is visiting Rutgers as its 25th Mason Welch Gross lecturer, an honor that has gone in the past to literary figures such as Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates, whose appearances there were held in small venues. Because of the stature of the Dalai Lama, the event has been scheduled for the stadium, which has a capacity of 41,000.
The 14th Dalai Lama, born Tenzin Gyatso in 1936, was recognized at the age of 2, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the 13th Dalai Lama.
In 1959, he was forced into exile in India after the Chinese military occupation of Tibet. He resides in Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government- in-exile.
