Saturday, Washingtonians attended the World Peace Talk emceed by multi-talented entertainer Whoopi Goldberg on The West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Grounds. Although Goldberg emceed the event, everyone was interested in seeing the headliner, His Holiness The Dalai Lama.
Goldberg said, “I was so happy to be some place that was celebratory. It is so nice to come out and celebrate the idea of peace,” just prior to introducing the Tibetan spiritual leader.
“I believe that if you’re nice to someone, generally they’re nice back,” Goldberg said.
The crowd came alive with applause when The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, appeared on the stage. He sounded optimistic and hopeful as he delivered his message to a crowd mixed with people of all faiths.
Paul Pointer “aka P-Square” was one of the people in the crowd intently listening to his words. Pointer recounts his years while waiting for the activities to begin. He talks about how he first entered the prison system nineteen years ago in the state of Ohio, and upon completing his probation he moved to the Washington, D.C. area, only to be back in the prison system less than a year later.
“When I arrived to D.C., in my head I was still a kid. I didn’t know nothing really, except what I learned in state prison in Ohio.” He added that instead of doing state time, he was sent to federal prison on drug charges. “When I got to my first destination, I didn’t think much about rehabilitation. I was mad at the government for not giving me a chance to get my life together. I blamed the government for me being black, me not having a father around, me getting in trouble as a kid; pretty much everything.”
When asked what changed his mind he spoke clearly and concisely. “What did it for me was sitting in the TV room one day watching the news, and the Dalai Lama was on. He talked about forgiveness and compassion,” he said as people in the crowd walked around. “There was also a guy in the TV room who said he just read a book about some of the stuff he was talking about.”
Pointer said the guy went and got his book and gave it to him. “He told me to keep the book [An Open Heart] and pass it along to someone else when I was done. I read that book and it changed my life. By the time I finished reading it, I just cried, and I didn’t even know why I was crying. I cried for a while and when I stopped, I just felt like a new person.”
As Pointer continued to talk, Whoopi Goldberg came out onto the stage and eventually His Holiness The Dalai Lama. He spoke on various topics and answered question that were already asked.
“Religion isn't ritual. Real religion is the practice of compassion, forgiveness, tolerance,” said The Dalai Lama, who has been in exile from Tibet for fifty-two (52) years. Pointer later remarked that that phrase stuck with him throughout his speaking.
On Friday, The Dalai Lama met with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) were on hand to meet with him. Also among the caveat of political leaders were Tibetan Prime Minister-elect Lobsang Sangay, and other members of the U.S. Congress. Hong Lei, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, says members of the U.S. Congress should stop supporting the Dalai Lama group in China.
Boehner remarked, “We appreciate that the Dalai Lama is taking time to speak with us about how we can spread our values... Not just in Tibet and China but in the Middle East as well.”
The U.S. relationship with the Dalai Lama dates back to Franklin D Roosevelt’s presidency, when the Dalai Lama was a young boy, Pelosi recounted. The Buddhist leader celebrated his 76th birthday Wednesday.
The White House has made no announcement as to whether or not President Obama will meet with the Tibetan leader. The Chinese government, which views the Tibetan leader as a political rebel, has warned against it.
"The Tibetan affairs are purely China's internal affairs, and China firmly opposes any country or any person to interfere in China's internal affairs on the Tibetan issue," Lei said in a Xinhua report.
The talk is part of an 11-day event being held at the Verizon Center by the Dalai Lama called the Kalachakra for World Peace. The Dalai Lama's Saturday talk is the only part of his 11-day visit.
Pointer added, “China should recognize just as the west does.” He said that everything just fell together while he read The Dalai Lama’s words. He said he chose to give myself an opportunity to focus on rehabilitation. When he was released he stuck with it and has been working for a hotel as a cook since then.
“I had to first come to understand crime and rehabilitation. I had to understand that I was destroying any chance of a real future; at least a positive one. My actions were no ones fault but my own. Understanding that completely opened doors for me. Every day I wake up is a chance to do something better than the day before, and I think that’s what we are all here for,” he said as he pointed out into the crowd of people.
Also in attendance to hear The Dalai Lama’s words was the 26-year-old Karmapa Lama, who some Tibetans hope could fill a void after The Dalai Lama dies. He spoke no words, as he was introduced by the revered spiritual leader, and quietly took a seat in the front row.
Prime Minister-elect Sangay, said, “I hope the meeting can bring a little bit of positive Karma to the Capitol and to officials on the Hill.”
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