NY Times: The Dalai Lama Looks to a World Beyond War

[gristy]

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Truth seekers, loyal subjects, peace lovers and the merely curious blanketed the East Meadow in Central Park yesterday to receive the Dalai Lama's persistent message of compassion and nonviolence.

Under a brilliant sun, the Tibetan leader and Buddhist holy man spoke with the usual self-deprecation, gentle humor and stingless tone that he reserves for Western audiences. His talk was general, informal and relatively free of deep Buddhist dogma, in keeping with the broad range of listeners.

"I have nothing to offer, no special thing," he said with a chuckle. "Just some blah, blah, blah."

Nevertheless, he turned to serious topics, including the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and his campaign to promote nonviolence throughout the world.

MORE

note: The Dalai Lama (and others) will be speaking at a conference in NY on Tuesday.

[LWolf]

1. Does this ring a bell here at DU?

Which candidate supports this world view?

"More compassion automatically opens our inner self," he said. "Too much self-centered attitude closes our inner door."

"The very concept of war is out of date," he said to applause. "Destruction of your neighbor as an enemy is essentially a destruction of yourself."


<snip>

Whose supporters do you hear saying things like this?

"It made me feel there is really a possibility for change in the world," she said.

There really is a possibility for change. We really can "be" the change we wish to see in the world.

And our vote really can bring transformational change to our nation.

Dennis Kucinich in '04