His Holiness in North America

By Rohini Kejriwal / October 28, 2014;

His Holiness arrives at the UBC Thunderbird Arena before the start of his teachings in Vancouver
Photo: OHHDL/Jeremy Russell

The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in Canada and the United States on a three-week visit, having stopped briefly in Japan on his way there. He has participated in a series of public talks, religious teachings and discussions with students, politicians, business leaders, economists, scientists and people from various fields of life.

Starting his visit in Vancouver, he visited the University of British Columbia and John Oliver School , meeting leading scientists in the fields of economics, neuroscience, psychology and public policy. The theme of his visit to Vancouver was the development of compassion in young people.

His Holiness talked about emotions, and how to counter negative emotions. He also spoke our existing education which focuses on material things instead of the importance of inner values, saying this is something that must change.
During his visit, the Dalai Lama also expressed his concern over the acts of terrorism in Canada, including the recent attack on Parliament. In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he condemned such violence and expressed the view that these were the symptoms of a larger, dangerous situation that “needs to be met with wisdom and far-sightedness”. However, Harper refused to meet him during this visit.

His Holiness also met singer-actress Selena Gomez during rehearsals for a We Day Vancouver event, who said that she was left “speechless” after meeting His Holiness.

While in Vancouver, His Holiness gave a teaching on Geshe Langri Thangpa’s “ Eight Verses of Training the Mind” (Lojong Tsikgyema) and conferred the Avalokiteshvera Empowerment (Chenrezig Wang). “Whenever I give lectures on Buddhism in the West, I always emphasise that it is better to keep one’s own religious tradition and not convert… It is very important to develop mutual respect and understanding of other religions,” he said.

In the United States, he visited Birmingham, Boston and New York City. In Birmingham, the Dalai Lama visited the Alabama Church, one of America’s sacred sanctuaries where four African-American girls were killed in a 1963 bombing that galvanised the civil rights movement. In the 16th Street Baptist Church he said that he was overjoyed to stand at the site where Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights leaders in the 1960s launched rallies for freedom for African-Americans.