The Dalai Lama had a teaching here this morning. Expect for his speaking, the event was very different than when I saw him in Florida. First, the attendees were by far mainly Tibetan people. Really dont know the number of people in attendance, but thousands. Standing room only and people sitting on the floor in all the pathways - actually, there were no chairs anywhere. Second, we were fed part way through. A traditional Tibetan breakfast of Pali (yes, spelled just like the language) which is a round loaf of bread that looks like a big (5-6 in diameter) english muffin and butter tea. Third, the organizational structure of the event was very relaxed although they did have at least 3 people with machine guns near the entrance to the chamber that the Dalai Lama was sitting in to give his teaching. A little incongruent for the event but understandable with all the crazy things happening in the world. No cameras or cell phones were allowed inside. Too bad as I had the perfect photo op, the Dalai Lama passed about 30 ft from where I was sitting to go into his inner chamber. Most of the people just heard the teaching from the loud speaker without ever getting a glimpse of him. So, a good way to start the day.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 07:51:48 +0000