From: owner-tsg-l@VM1.MCGILL.CA, June 2, 1997

By CLAY EVANS

Camera Staff Writer

Though at ease before all kinds of audiences, whether large or small, Buddhist, Christian or agnostic, the Dalai Lama clearly was closer to his element when he spoke to hundreds of people Sunday morning at Boulder's Naropa Institute.

Whereas audiences at his other appearances in Boulder and Denver over a whirlwind, jam-packed weekend visit tended to ask decidedly temporal or political questions, the Tibetan Buddhist leader was able to pepper his remarks at Naropa - started in 1974 by a Tibetan Buddhist teacher - with more

esoteric Buddhist references.

But even as he spoke of "sukhvati" - a notion something like heaven - and karma - a Buddhist law saying that all actions will visit consequences upon the actor - the cheerful 62-year-old monk continued to preach his brand of ethics.

Whether a person is religious or not, Buddhist or some other faith, the "most important thing is to have a sense of inner peace," he told the audience at Naropa, who were on hand for a conference on "Spirituality in Education."

"And the way to that inner peace is an open mind and a good heart," he said. Ill feelings, such as anger, jealousy or hatred, he said, do nothing but cause people to "lose appetite, lose sleep, and then you use some tranquilizers or

alcohol or drugs."

The Naropa appearance was just the beginning of a long day for the Dalai Lama, who was whisked away to Denver after his hourlong speech and question-answer period to meet with teenagers in the PeaceJam program. Later he received an

honorary degree from Regis University and spoke at an elaborate interfaith service at McNichols Arena.

He was scheduled to leave Denver today and to visit Los Angeles and San Francisco before heading back to his home in Dharamsala, India.

Throughout his Colorado appearances, the Dalai Lama was treated with respect that sometimes bordered on awe. He is the spiritual and temporal leader for many of the world's exiled Tibetan Buddhists. He fled to Dharamsala in 1959

after China brutally crushed an uprising by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule.

As a leader in exile, he has been recognized across the globe as the most visible face of Buddhism. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The interfaith service featured prayer offerings from representatives of the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and American Indian religious traditions, giving the Dalai Lama an opening to talk about one of his favorite

themes: Tolerance and coexistence.

"When I appear on the same platform with leaders of other religious traditions ... and together with them in prayer for a common goal, peace in the world ... I always find it profoundly significant," he told the crowd of about 9,000 who paid to hear him speak.

In particular, he praised the Christian "Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi," read by the Rev. Lucia Guzman of the Colorado Council of Churches. The prayer reads, in part, "where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope."

"This resonates very strongly with me," the Dalai Lama said. "Some of these lines you would find in Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist prayers."

But for all the admiring crowd he encountered in his two and a half days in Colorado, none was more enthusiastic than the one at Naropa Sunday morning. The Dalai Lama seemed surprised - but pleased - when several hundred people began

swaying and clapping to a spiritual hymn "Down by the Riverside."

"I really enjoyed at the beginning when you were singing without control yourself and moving very, very freely," he said in his at-times halting English. "Always do not understand many things, but it is communicated through smile."

Throughout his talk, he urged his listeners to examine their lives and eschew material desires and wants for the sake of their families. He also said once again that religion is a matter of personal conviction and choice.

In Mongolia, a traditionally Buddhist land, he said Christian missionaries had brought on a situation that was "not very comfortable."

Conference participants said the Dalai Lama's simple wisdom was something they could bring back to the classroom.

"I think as educators we are so wrapped up in statistics and performance, it's sad. Nobody is teaching things of the heart," said Tom Bauer, a teacher from Madison, Wis., who said he is a Christian. "The greatest thing is he reminded

me that I maybe can't change the institution, but as a teacher I can be compassionate."

Some people who were not part of the conference braved the pounding morning sun to watch and listen to the Dalai Lama from afar.

"My friends and I are here from Rochester (N.Y.), and this seemed like an incredible opportunity," said Wendy Levin, 31. "His teachings, mostly those to do with world peace, I find very compelling.