Dalai Lama

I thought I posted this already. Guess not.

About a month ago I went to see the Dalai Lama in Atlanta.  Honestly, I didn't know too much about him (him? his highness? I think they call him his holiness) but the word "enlightening" kept coming up so I was interested in feeling that.  

I feel I should preface this by realizing that as I write, I will probably sound pretty ignorant about the whole thing.  Keep that in mind as these are just my inconsequential and often irreverent thoughts.

Something like 8,000 people showed up.  Again, I had no idea what to expect.  We walked in late and didn't get to see him come out (the friend I was with said this was the best part because of the "energy" that he brought in to the room).  There he was dressed in red with this Styrofoam visor (kind of like one you might decorate with foam stickers at church camp).  At first he gave a speech and then a guy on stage asked him a few questions.  He was very hard to understand so his response was being typed on a screen (although I think the person writing had a hard time comprehending as well because the sentences were incoherent and he backspaced a lot).

Essentially, his message is love and compassion.  That is the gist of what he talked about.  He never fully answered the questions and more of less just said to be a good person.  Maybe I'm being cynical, but I kept thinking, "Duh.  Thousands of people paid $50 a ticket to hear that?"  

It kind of makes me question what humanity is hungry for.  Obviously seeing the Dalai Lama is a trendy thing to do.  I get that now.  But what is at the root of seeing someone deemed "holy"? We all are looking for something to fill whatever hole or gap we see missing in ourselves or maybe in the world.  I do not know whether or not people worship the Dalai Lama but it seems odd to me that all this hype for someone who is just a man.  A good man, yes, but an earthly man nonetheless.  On the peak side, I did appreciate his observation of this century's need for responsibility in bringing about change and peace.  He also mentioned the role of women as maternal figures.  Not to say that we should all have babies, but more so that the caring female role is so important and needs to be restored.  The feminist part of me started to tick a little when he got on this subject but he said it from such a kind place that I knew he wasn't meaning to step on toes.

I can say that I've seen the Dalai Lama.  I am sad to say that I did not feel enlightened after I left.  It was 11:30 and I felt hungry.