Minnesota has the second largest Tibetan community in the US (New York is the largest) and it’s been 10 years since the Dalai Lama‘s last major visit to the state. This visit was especially important because he’s 75 years old and preparing for his passing. On 14 March 2011 he retired as head of the Tibetan government in exile.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was recognized as the current reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1937 when he was two years old. As the spiritual leader of the Gelug Tibetan Buddhists, he’s lived in exile in Dharamsala, India since 1959 when the Chinese occupied Tibet and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his work to end Chinese rule of his home country. He’ll likely be the first Dalai Lama to die in exile. It’s doubtful that the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will be recognized by the Chinese as the Chinese government has claimed the power to approve all high monks and name all high reincarnations. Importantly, the Dalai Lama has stated publicly and repeatedly that if Tibet is not free he will reincarnate somewhere else, outside of Tibet. He’s also said that he may be the last Dalai Lama.
It was an especially important visit for me because I’ve had end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and been a dialysis patient for more than 11 years and more recently suffered heart failure related to a damaged atrial valve. So, I was really looking forward to both public sessions with the Dalai Lama, especially the first, “Medicine Buddha Empowerment.” It was a teaching, cultural, and spiritual ceremony tied into the launch of the University of Minnesota’s Tibetan Healing initiative.
The Dalai Lama’s visit was co-sponsored by the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality & Healing.
As a former employee of the University for more than four years, I know first-hand how the institution tends to steamroll its “partners” in events like this and the Dalai Lama’s visit, “One Heart, One Mind, One Universe,” was no exception. Staged in a University athletic facility—in this case, Mariucci Arena, the hockey rink and the closest thing to sacred space on the campus—the institution and its Center for Spirituality and Healing couldn’t be bothered to install an adequate public address system.
Apparently the sole microphone used for the Dalai Lama “flipped” and they opted not to interrupt to adjust it. Or at least that’s the story I got when I inquired why anyone in our section (Section 8, Row 23, Seats 3-4) were unable to hear a word uttered by His Holiness. Except they did indeed interrupt and it didn’t help, as evidenced by our being unable to hear his interpreter/translator either.
And the open concession stands—gracefully limited to the facilities owned and operated by the University, of course—was an especially nice touch. It was disconcerting to concentrate on absorbing the Dalai Lama’s teaching while folks milled around munching on hot dogs and popcorn.
As my friend and one-time employer, Nina Utne, mentioned afterward, maybe it was a lesson in non-attachment; just not the lesson I was expecting.
The incompetence and disregard from the University and its Center for Spirituality & Healing was a disgrace to His Holiness and an embarrassment for the state of Minnesota. Because of this, I’m publicly calling for the University of Minnesota and its Center for Spirituality & Healing to disgorge an appropriate level of the revenue obtained from ticket sales to the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota for whatever use it and its community sees fit.
Update: Tuesday, 10 May 2011 12:09PM CDT: To be absolutely clear, the revenue realized by University of Minnesota and its Center for Spirituality & Healing from the Dalai Lama’s visit is not inconsiderable. Karen and I paid US$245 to the Northrop Ticket Office on 18 October 2010 for the tickets. Predictably, the University sold advertising on the back of each ticket—to our health insurer.
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