By Bipasha Ray
BOSTON – Thousands of supporters and devotees of the Dalai Lama gave a spirited reception to the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet on Sunday, who urged the sold-out audience at the FleetCenter to seek peaceful means of resolving conflict.
After traditional Tibetan music and dance performances, the bespectacled Buddhist leader said children should be taught the value of peaceful conflict-resolution at an early age, and that conflict even the extreme political violence in the Middle East could be aided by the ”spirit of dialogue.”
”I’ve expressed this many times, that we should try to bring it to curriculum of schools, to instill the basic idea of dialogue, as a means of conflict resolution, for every situation,” he said through a translator.
Religion is important, he said, but said people should not allow their religious beliefs to turn into hatred.
”Instead of taking religion as a part of life, or as a way of living, sometimes we take religion as a label, or something we identify with, and we tend to pollute the teachings of religion with our own negative feelings and attitudes,” he said.
Building self-confidence and inner strength through the secular values of love, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness and contentment were the keys to living a happy and successful life, he said.
The leader of the Chinese-occupied Himalayan nation arrived in Massachusetts on Friday as part of a five-city, 20-day U.S. tour timed to coincide with the Sept. 11 anniversary.
He has met with President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his top aide on Tibet, Paula Dobriansky, and other top administration officials. Those meetings have irked Chinese officials, who warned the U.S. against meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
On Saturday, he attended a conference at MIT intended to explore how Buddhists and scientists can collaborate in their pursuit of understanding the mysteries of the human mind.
On Monday, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to meet with Harvard President Lawrence Summers and speak at the school’s Memorial Chapel.
The 68-year-old leader is viewed by Tibetan Buddhists as the 14th reincarnation of the Buddha of compassion. Living in exile since a failed 1959 uprising against the occupying Chinese army, the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Kristen and Greg Komara, of Hopedale, came to the talk after reading a book written by the Dalai Lama, and left impressed and inspired by the Dalai Lama’s words.
”It was refreshing to hear the message of peace come from his mouth,” said Kristen Komara, 34. ”To hear a great man speak about everyday values of living, it’s an emotional thing.”
Greg Komara, 35, said the Dalai Lama’s message had particular resonance in Boston, a city that has been wracked with controversy and scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.
”There’s so much disillusionment in this city,” he said. ”Here’s a man who has lost his country and may never go back, and yet he retains his sense of belief and sees the best in every situation.”
