By GARY STERN
He is the leader of but one movement within a vast world religion that most Americans know little about. He presides over one of many peoples around the globe who seek freedom from an oppressive force.
And yet, the Dalai Lama has become one of America’s most recognized and revered religious leaders, a figure in saffron robes and flip-flops held in the same kind of esteem as Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr.
On Sept. 21, when he speaks in Central Park about cultivating virtuous habits, tens of thousands of New Yorkers will sit in lotus positions to hear his message and soak in that special something — virtue? honesty? simplicity? humility? — that has made the 68-year-old Dalai Lama perhaps America’s most unlikely superstar.
Whatever his draw, there is no doubt that the man born as Lhamo Thondup, which means Wish-Fulfilling Goddess, speaks to people of all faiths in difficult-to-define ways. Part of it is his simply worded philosophy. Part is his nonviolent leadership of the Tibetan people. Part may be his knowing smile.
“People look at him and say that he lives as Jesus said we should,” said Skye Leith, 48, who helps lead a weekly Buddhist meditation group at the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Upper Nyack. “He lives his life according to principals that Buddhism advocates, but that are similar to Judeo-Christian values: Do not hurt people, do not retaliate, live by the Golden Rule. The Dalai Lama does not tell people to become Buddhists. He offers this combination of timeless wisdom, which he actually lives by, and an approach that says we should each do our best on our own, as we are. It resonates with people.”
As part of his American tour, the Dalai Lama will return to Manhattan’s Beacon Theater for four days of teaching from Sept. 17 to 20. On the evening of Sept. 21, he will speak before a concert at Avery Fisher Hall. Only scattered tickets are available for both appearances.
His free lecture at Central Park will be the centerpiece of his visit. When he last spoke there in 1999, close to 50,000 people gathered in what, for New Yorkers, was incredible silence. Presumably, few who listened to his message of inner tranquility were Buddhists. But most were seekers.
“I think he radiates a kind of inner peace, and in this maelstrom of what we call daily living, it stirs up memories of something we’re searching for,” said the Rev. James Gardiner of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, a Catholic community based in Garrison that will host a Catholic-Buddhist dialogue in October. “His appeal, I think, is proof of the contemporary hunger for spirituality of any kind. And his background symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Even if people don’t fully understand it, they sense it.”
The Dalai Lama’s story is well-known. In 1959, several years after Communist China invaded and took control of Tibet, he and 80,000 followers fled to India. Since then, he has headed a Tibetan government in exile and traveled the world to seek support for his people and to espouse the fundamental teachings of Buddhism.
He is not a pope-like figure to Buddhists. In fact, while there are many streams of Buddhism around the world, the Dalai Lama leads only one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
This 14th Dalai Lama, whom followers believe is a reincarnation of the 13 who preceded him, is unique in developing a world-wide audience. Most Dalai Lamas stayed close to home. The position, until now, did not require becoming Buddhism’s ambassador to non-Buddhist lands.
The Dalai Lama has long insisted that he will retire if Tibet wins its freedom. For now, though, he is the ultimate self-help guru, motivated not by dollars but by a desire to see inner peace roll across the continents.
“His message is simple: The importance of kindness and compassion,” said Jeffrey Hopkins, the Dalai Lama’s former interpreter, now a professor of Tibetan and Buddhist studies at the University of Virginia. “It is a message that is relevant not to just believers in religion, but nonbelievers. He stresses how kindness and compassion not only make our lives happier, but also make social progress possible. At a time when people are pursuing money, position, power, it’s an inspiring message, one that comes through in the expression of his character.”
The plight of the Tibetan people, which has evoked worldwide passions and the support of a disproportionate share of rock stars and Hollywood types, is also a key component of the Dalai Lama’s appeal. He is the leader of a greatly admired, almost mythologized people who have come to stand for the oppressed, past and present.
“The Tibetans’ response — nonviolent resistance to the Chinese — makes people curious and then blows them away, like Ghandi,” said Ganden Thurman, director of special projects for Tibet House in Manhattan. “We are used to seeing people denouncing their enemies, bombing their enemies. The very existence of the Tibetans is an irritant to people who say our own response to things is to blow them up. The Tibetans, like the Dalai Lama, show that you can retain human dignity.”
The Dalai Lama’s message in Central Park will be based on the teachings of an 11th century Indian saint, Atisha, and will be applicable — the Dalai Lama’s supporters promise — to all faiths. The basic idea: How to develop compassionate thoughts and engage in beneficial actions toward others.
“He’s a great leader who sets an example for all of us,” said Don Sinkov, 54, of Putnam Valley, who helped the Chuang Yen Monastery in Kent arrange 10,000 Buddha statues before the Dalai Lama’s 1997 visit. “He lives his convictions. His philosophy, although I’m not a Buddhist, has helped me in my personal life. It’s about spiritual awareness, seeing things how they are, how to treat people, my family and the world.”
Send e-mail to Gary Stern at gstern@thejournalnews.com
The itinerary
• Sept. 17-20: “Training the Mind, Opening the Heart,” the Beacon Theatre, 10 a.m. to noon, 2 to 4 p.m. Limited seats available from Ticketmaster.
• Sept. 21: “A Public Talk for New York,” Central Park, noon. Free.
• Sept. 21: “Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation,” Avery Fisher Hall, 7 p.m. The Dalai Lama will speak before the concert, featuring Tom Waits, Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass, Foday Musa Suso, Anoushka Shankar, Nawang Khechog, R. Carlos Nakai and the Gyuto Tantric Choir. Limited seats available from Ticketmaster.
