Published by World Tibet Network News - Monday, March 24, 1997

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan, March 23 (AFP) - The Dalai Lama urged 50,000 people packed into a stadium here Sunday to fill their hearts with love and tolerance and cast off material wealth in search of spiritual rewards.

"All living things are trying to escape from suffering and seek happiness, even the smallest insect," he told the crowd listening intently to every word.

"We have to realise first of all the origins of suffering, where does it come from and the origins of happiness, where does it come from," he added in Tibetan speaking through a Chinese translator.

People from all corners of Taiwan had braved a miserable, rainy day to fill the stadium in the southern city of Kaohsiung and listen for an hour and 45 minutes to a deeply philosophical sermon from the Buddhist leader.

They had started queuing several hours before the meeting opened and some were left sitting on the ground on the central pitch as the drizzle came down. Outside a huge screen relayed the Dalai Lama's address to passersby.

There was tight security with every bag checked and everyone having to pass through metal detectors. They were barred from taking in cameras, video recorders or cassettes. And even pagers and mobile phones had to be left at the gate.

The Dalai Lama, seated on a huge, flower-lined stage urged his followers to rid themselves of the scourge of selfishness. "Egoism and selfishness cause greed and greed will cause suffering to other people."

He was flanked by high-ranking monks and nuns as well as some of the city officials, including mayor Wu Den-yih and his deputy Lin Cheung-sen.

Robe-clad monks and nuns with shaven-heads filled the seats, some taking notes as they listened to the words of the Buddhist leader, in Kaohsiung 340 kilometres (210 miles) from Taipei.

Despite the large crowd, there was almost complete silence as they drank in the Dalai Lama's words.

People had to purify themselves, shed material possessions and longings and rid themselves of evil in order to understand the true nature of suffering and happiness, he said.

"We are all human beings, but we all possess a quality of Buddha so that if we study diligently we will become Buddha one day."

Housewife Tseng Yueh-feng, who has studied Buddhist teachings for six years, said she was overwhelmed by the address.

"I am so happy to have had the chance to see the Dalai Lama, it's a chance in a thousand years. He made the teachings accessible and easy to understand."

Kaohsiung Mayor Wu said at the start of the meeting the city was honored by the Dalai Lama's presence adding that it was the largest Buddhist gathering ever held there.

"I believe that the honorable Dalai Lama will guide us through his speech on caring and benevolence and help us ease our sufferings," Wu said.

Also present were county magistrate Yu Cheng-hsien and his deputy as well as the chairman of the ruling Kuomintang party in Kaohsiung, Wang Li-hsiang. The high-ranking guests were all introduced and applauded by the crowd.

The Dalai Lama was on the second day of his historic six-day visit to Taiwan, which has drawn sharp fire from Beijing.

But he has taken pains to stress the religious nature of his trip and spent Sunday morning visiting two temples in southern Taiwan where he led thousands of followers in solemn prayers.

Wang Yung-Nan, a professor at the Pingtung Polytechnic, had queued for almost five hours to be sure of his seat. "Fate has arranged for me to meet this great person, I didn't want to miss the chance," he said.

At one point the Dalai Lama offered to cut short his speech because of the rain, but the people clapped their appreciation and urged him just to carry on.

Outside a handful of members of the radical Taiwan Independence Party held a rally in support of Taiwan and Tibetan independence. But they were barred from entering the stadium, and there were no banners flying inside.

The Dalai Lama is to give two other sermons in the Taipei area. Later Sunday he was due to receive an honorary doctorate from Chungshan university, before flying to Taipei.