Saturday, April 14, his holiness, the Dalai Lama held a student talk at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He spoke to college, university and high school students about “Educating the Heart.”
In what looked like majority of the seats in the center were full, the crowd enjoyed pre-show entertainment by Anuhea Jenkins, Jake Shimabukuro and Jack Johnson. During Johnson’s performance, his holiness entered on stage to the clapping and rising of the crowd, he playfully patted Johnson on the knee, and sat down to enjoy the rest of the song.
Jenkins greeted his holiness with a lei and a kiss on the cheek. Later the Dalai Lama asked with respect and humor, if it was OK if he could put the lei somewhere else for a while, it was a little uncomfortable.
After the crowd stood and welcomed him again on stage, his holiness motioned for everyone to sit down and explained that he just wants people to see him as another human being. He immediately jumped into the topic of the days conversation.
“Our life depends on hope,” his holiness said. “Hope is something good.”
Joyfulness and happiness are not only physical, but target the sensory level of the human being. His holiness’s topic reached a very spiritual level and required the audiences full attention while he spoke. It was the type of focus where the audience needs to get into a more holistic and spiritual mind set.
The mental level is much more superior than the physical, he explained.
“Education reduce the gap between appearance and reality,” his holiness said.
This can be taken in many different ways. The fact that appearance has become a reality for people. Appearance is something that matters most now, and education is a way to tie toegether what is reality. Then there is appearance, education and reality. Education could be learning before jumping into the reality of life after school.
His holiness not only touches people on a spritual level, but keeps the crowd engaged and laughing. He took a break to tell a story or lighten up the mood with something not so heavy in thinking. He told a story about when he would ride on his moms shoulders, and a story about him peaking in someone’s medicine cabinet.
He also touched on self confidence is inner strength and that is something that reduces fear. Being kind to the enemy does not mean that you submit to them.
“Education is for the brain and heart,” he said.
His holiness believes that that this century must make central peace, and “to build a happy humanity.”
“(This century) should be century of dialogue,” he said in reference to our genration finding peace in the world by talking.