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Dalai Lama

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During his lecture at the IU Auditorium, the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, emphasizes resolving conflict with non-violent measures. In addition to his lecture, the spiritual leader blessed the cornerstone of the new Tibetan Cultural Center and participated in the traditional scarf exchange — a symbol of goodwill. Photo by Dmitry Kiyatkin.

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uddhist chant, in a distinctive Tibetan language, wafted through the morning air, as about 200 spectators gathered outside Bloomington's Tibetan Culture Center. Leaving their cars lining the narrow rural road, they came to hear wisdom from an aging Tenzin Gyatso, the acknowledged 14th incarnation of the Dalai Lama.

As the spectators and his entourage listened, the Dalai Lama taught the traditional "SemKye," or Aspirational Bodhicitta, which emphasized the uselessness of hate and anger.

The audience knelt and prayed using an English translation sheet. Then came a traditional sign of Buddhist good will — a scarf exchange with the Dalai Lama's older brother, Tibetan Cultural Center president and founder Thubten Norbu. Finally, His Holiness blessed the cornerstone for the new Tsong Kha Sanctuary, an international Buddhist temple and monks' residence to be built on the grounds of the TCC.

Bloomington played host to His Holiness from July 26-28, and in addition to the cornerstone blessing, His Holiness gave a free public lecture at the IU Auditorium to a capacity crowd. IU President Myles Brand introduced His Holiness, who waved to friends, eliciting laughs from the audience.

His talk was titled "Overcoming Differences," and he called the "us-versus-them" approach to national identity outdated. "We must treat the world as a whole body," he said. "We are behind on this concept, and this is why we suffer. The whole concept of war is old-fashioned."

The Dalai Lama said the next century must be more peaceful than the last. He said unilateral demilitarization is crucial to the process of peaceful conflict resolution. "When men look back, they will say the 20th century was a century of bloodshed," he said. "The next century should be a century of dialogue."

The Dalai Lama's search for peace has been a long one. In 1949, China invaded Tibet. During their 50-year occupation, the Chinese systematically killed 1.2 million Tibetans and destroyed the Tibetan culture. After 10 years of negotiation with thenleader Mao Tse Tung, the Dalai Lama was forced to flee for his life over the Himalayas on horseback.

Exiled to India, the Dalai Lama has been a voice for peace in Tibet and around the world. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

While addressing many of the political issues surrounding the struggle to free his country, the Dalai Lama said he did not favor a U.S economic boycott of China. "China must be brought into the mainstream of world democracy," the Dalai Lama said. "To condemn China is morally wrong; they have every right to prosperity. I don't want

by Andrew Moulton

a confrontational relationship between the U.S. and China."

Although the Dalai Lama said he stood firm on the idea of Tibet being an independent nation, he said the main threat to Tibet was cultural rather than political. "The urgent thing is to preserve Tibetan Buddhist Culture," he said. "It can provide peace of mind to millions of young Chinese, but it is facing the threat of dying out."

When men look back, they will say the 20th century was a century of bloodshed. The next century should be a century of dialogue. Dalai La ma

Denver, Colorado native Dawn Engle cofounded PeaceJam, a non-profit foundation that brought high school students and Nobel Peace Prize winners together.

She planned and ran a conference for Indiana students scheduled around the Dalai Lama's visit. Engle said the leader has maintained his sincerity even with the adoration of Hollywood.

Film stars Richard Gere and Steven Seagal, who converted to Buddhism, accompanied the Dalai Lama to Bloomington on separate occasions — Gere in 1987 and Seagal on this trip in 1996. "When I first met him (the Dalai Lama) I really expected him to be fake, that his good humor and understanding would be a put on," Engle said. "He really is a very warm, caring leader, and I think the students can learn a lot about conflict resolution from him."

Brand concurred. "War has not disappeared from our planet," Brand said. "Faced with such a world, we need a leader who can guide us to a resolution of our problems with non-violence." Ll

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