Northwest Asian Weekly: Dalai Lama given honorary degree at UW

nwasianweekly.com April 19, 2008
Photo by Kathy Sauber/The University of Washington (Above, right) University of Washington President Mark Emmert and the Dalai Lama bow to one another. The UW bestowed an honorary degree upon the Dalai Lama April 14, 2007, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Dalai Lama given honorary degree at UW By Chantal Anderson Northwest Asian Weekly On April 14, more than 7,000 students and professors from around the region came to watch the Dalai Lama receive an honorary degree from the University of Washington at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The newly created group Seeds of Compassion hosted the Dalai Lama’s five-day visit to Seattle to “bring world attention to the importance of nurturing kindness,” according to a press release. Sitting in a large, comfortable chair adorned with purple academic regalia, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, said he was excited and nervous about speaking in front of “so many bright scholars.” After bestowing the degree, UW President Mark Emmert and UW Board of Regents Chair Stanley Barer helped the Dalai Lama put on the traditional doctoral robe. The University conferred a Doctor of Humane Letters to the leader for his contributions to Tibetan society and the world. The honorary degree citation spoken to the Dalai Lama cited him as “a symbol of hope, an advocate for the world stage, a tireless diplomat and always a strong voice of non-violence.” During his acceptance speech, the Dalai Lama thanked the University for giving him a degree without “having to do any studying,” which elicited a burst of laughter from the crowd. He spoke about the importance of compassion in everyday life. “Peace does not come from the sky … peace depends on us,” he said. “My generation, and most of the professors and chancellors are ready to say ‘goodbye,’” he said as the crowd erupted in laughter. “I am handing this over to you,” he continued in a more serious tone as he pressed his hands together and pointed to the audience. The Dalai Lama’s message resonated with Lindsey Ward, a UW student who attended the event, in particular “how compassion starts internally and then has a ripple communtiy heffect onto the rest of our community,” she said. The Dalai Lama’s anecdote of a 13- or 14-year-old boy illustrated how a positive attitude can make a difference in one’s life. He said the boy, who lost his sight after being hit in the face with a rubber bullet, felt no anger or hatred, only sadness because he would never be able to see his mother’s face again. The boy calmly sat in the room with a smile on his face, the Dalai Lama said. “I visited him years later and found that he has a beautiful wife and two children now,” he said. “Now he has a happy family, and a happy life.” He attributed this happiness to his peace of mind. Students asked the Dalai Lama about everything from what is the simplest and most compassionate act, to how compassion can be used to affect the “green” movement. “I was surprised at how humble he was,” Ward said. “If he didn’t know the answer to the question he said, ‘I don’t know,’ he was open to jokes, and he really understood that we are all the same. “Here is this man who is so accomplished — he’s helped so many people, yet he put himself on par with the audience, and I think that had a really strong effect on people,” she said. Not everyone welcomed the Dalai Lama’s visit to campus, however. “He has his own opinions, and we have ours,” said Wei Zheng, one of a group of Chinese protestors. A group of about 150 protestors met in the UW’s Red Square before starting the protest at 1 p.m. By the end of the Dalai Lama’s speech, the group had swelled to about 400 people and was positioned outside the Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The protestors were local Chinese community members, including some students. The protest was primarily organized over the Internet. “The Dalai Lama needs to condemn the violent protests,” Zheng said. This and the group’s plea to “not bring politics into the Olympics” were two reasons for their gathering. He also said they were “protesting Western media.” Stepping out of the auditorium, Ward saw all the protestors and “a plane flying overhead that said ‘Dalai ur smiles charm, ur words harm.’” “It was pretty clear that he was here for apolitical reasons,” Ward said. “To me his message was to teach younger children to be compassionate in their lives, to motivate the next generation to be more peaceful.” Chantal Anderson is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. She can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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