Dalai Lama in Matsuyama

The Dalai Lama spoke to a few thousand people for two-and-a-half-hours in Matusyama yesterday. Actually it was more like three hours because he stayed after for questions.

It was so funny, at the beginning he asked in Tibetan (translated into Japanese) “Who here speaks English?” Only a few people raised their hands. Then he asked the question again in perfect English and many more people raised their hands. He laughed, sat back, thought for a minute, and then said, “When I get asked a question, sometimes the question itself gives me an entirely new perspective, or a new way of looking at things.” That was the little sermon he gave the English speakers. He also said in English at the end, “If you think anything I said today was useful, please think about it again. If you don't think it was useful, you can just forget it, no problem!”

The rest of his talk was in Tibetan and Japanese. Every once in a while he would use English to clarify a certain word for the translator, so it would be “blah blah blah interdependence blah blah blah basic mental state blah blah...” That was kind of fun...

But I tell ya, The Dalai Lama has such a powerful presence. He walks out on stage and spends time looking at and smiling at every person, he laughs and waves, then he prostrates to the Buddha. After that, we are all in love, and everything he does, whether its scratching his nose or adjusting his hat, makes us laugh or smile. Especially when he remembers something and giggles to himself, we all giggle. He pulls it out of us and leaves us in a state of cheerful, playful, joy. I can only imagine how amazing it was for the Japanese people who could understand the translation! I just went to see him though, so the little bit of English at the beginning and end was an unexpected gift.

This morning I remembered many dreams, and today I felt clear and energetic all day.