BOULDER — Tibet’s Dalai Lama built his case for a happier, friendlier world in sold-out appearances Thursday at the University of Colorado, urging deeper self-study and compassion as remedies to rising tension — continuing a U.S. tour aimed partly at ensuring Tibetan survival.
“Our goal should be, within the 21st century, a more compassionate humanity,” the Dalai Lama said at CU’s Coors Events Center.
An 80-year-old monk in maroon-and-orange robes who is having trouble walking, he laughingly navigated language barriers and poor acoustics to share wisdom on wide-ranging topics: from girls using makeup (“External beauty really important, no question. But more important: inner beauty”) to obsessive use of cellphones (“It can be a benefit connecting with people. … On the other hand, technology just for temporary entertainment waste of time. It is a neutral instrument, can be used either way.”)
And the Dalai Lama drew standing ovations.
His appearance in Boulder brought a rock-star dimension to this latest U.S. tour, which began last week with an all-but-secret White House stop — China apoplectic about any formal recognition — and bipartisan congressional luncheon. The CU appearances drew throngs of admirers — Tibetan-American grandmothers, robe-clad Buddhist converts, note-taking college students — showing the appeal of a man who steadily for more than 50 years has insisted on Tibet’s right to exist.
As he took the stage in the 9,000-capacity arena, Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones handed the Dalai Lama a shiny bicycle jersey and white helmet. He swung the jersey over his shoulder and put on the helmet, grinning widely at the crowd.
“Of course these days I am too old to bike,” he said. “When I was young, I used to bike.”
The helmet is a symbol of the protection people need on the path to enlightenment, he said. “You need a kind of protection and armor against afflictions. … So, thank you.”
He also acknowledged welcoming remarks by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, who spoke of “a tightrope” the Dalai Lama walks seeking autonomy for Tibet, although not independence. Polis remarked on the congressional sit-in over gun legislation, drawing a standing ovation, including the Dalai Lama, who clapped and called U.S. lawmakers’ push to control violence “an important task.”
But he focused on the topic of compassion, Buddhist concepts of mindfulness necessary to achieve that and a growing need he sees for “secular ethics” in a world where he says schools are failing and one in seven people don’t follow any religion.
“We are same human beings, mentally, emotionally, physically,” he said, addressing challenges “to build a healthy world, including the environment.” He repeatedly proposed benefits of “one individual becoming more compassionate” and developing “global sensibility” — tiny transformations that quickly can spread to hundreds of thousands.
“That is the way (to) change,” the Dalai Lama said during his morning session.
The talks added heft to recent theological tidbits he has offered that, if he is reincarnated again, he may come back in India or even outside Asia, perhaps as a female.
“I never try to propagate religion,” he said. “Without being requested, one should not impose spiritual teachings.”
Yet all the world’s religions share essential concepts such as altruism and forgiveness, the Dalai Lama said, praising interfaith exchanges as useful — along with deeper critical thinking to reduce “afflictions” that come from “mental distortions.”
“It is very important to understand that all religions, or religious traditions, can send messages of love. … All have same potential to help human behavior, to create good community.”
The initial stop in Washington, D.C., sent political signals, with the Dalai Lama thanking members of Congress for their “staunch support for our cause.” He told lawmakers Tibetan leaders “are not seeking independence because we don’t want to enter into confrontation with our Chinese brothers and sisters,” but he added that Chinese documents reveal that, in the ninth century, independent Tibetan, Chinese and Mongolian empires coexisted. Tibet, he said, seeks “a mutually beneficial solution to the problems between us.” He added that Tibetans are concerned about “the ecology of the Tibetan Plateau.”
A growing Tibetan exile community of more than 300 in Colorado invited the Dalai Lama back to Boulder, following a visit in 1997. He’s been visiting Tibetans nationwide, stopping in Salt Lake City before Boulder, pushing efforts to establish Tibetan cultural centers. The harsh conditions in Tibet increasingly force a strategy of keeping Tibetan culture alive through Tibetans in exile. An estimated 6 million live inside China. More than 150,000 live in exile.
A Tibetan Institute of Secular Ethics is planned in Boulder, a dream of a community that began with 30 resettled refugees who, like the Dalai Lama in 1959, fled Chinese persecution.
“Inside Tibet, we don’t have any freedom,” said Tibetan Association of Colorado spokesman Tenzin Tashi, 37, a University of Wyoming-trained mechanical engineer and planner for the $3 million Tibetan center project. “In Tibet, we have to go through the Chinese system, which is trying to overwhelm the culture. It is forcing the younger generation to just speak Chinese.”
The Dalai Lama’s visits with Tibetans around the world “is definitely part of the bigger picture. The Dalai Lama always keeps his eye on the bigger picture, the Tibetan people as a whole,” said Dawn Engle, founder of Denver-based Peacejam, who for years has worked with Nobel Peace Prize winners to bring them and their ideas to teenagers.
He was born in northeastern Tibet. While living with his family of farmers, he was identified by Tibetan spiritual leaders as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.
China invaded Tibet in 1950 and imposed Communist rule. The Dalai Lama moved to India as Tibet’s political and spiritual leader. In 2011, he gave up his political role to an elected leader, urging democracy among Tibetans, and now concentrates primarily on religious responsibilities.
Chinese agents in 1995 kidnapped a boy whom the Dalai Lama had named as his successor, the Panchen Lama, and named a replacement. The Dalai Lama wrote on a website that Chinese officials issued an order “concerning the control and recognition of reincarnations.” He called this “outrageous and disgraceful,” saying that Chinese enforcement of inappropriate methods for recognizing reincarnations was aimed at eradicating Tibetan traditions and caused damage that may be difficult to repair.
