By Lisa Levitt Ryckman, Monday, June 02, 1997

Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

For Tami Voss' 40th birthday, her best friend and soulmate gave her the Dalai Lama.

"Seriously, it's a birthday gift,'' said Voss as she and friend Angela Bartlett waited in McNichols Arena on Sunday for the exiled Tibetan leader's speech and interfaith celebration.

"I figure there's got to be some reason I'm here,'' said Voss, who at first felt reluctant to attend the event. "There's got to be something he's going to say that I need to hear.''

What she and 10,000 others heard was the Dalai Lama's profoundly simple message about the connection between inner peace and world peace.

It was all part of what Mayor Wellington Webb proclaimed "Dalai Lama Days'' in Denver.

"Some of you may have the wrong impression about me as a mysterious man from a faraway place,'' said the Dalai Lama, who addressed the crowd first through an interpreter and then in broken English.

"That is wrong. We are all the same human being. Same experience, same desire. Everyone has the same potential to have a meaningful life ... happy life, happy family and through that, happy world.''

His message resonated with guilt-free truth for Patrick Casey, 31, who said he had been raised a Catholic.

"I think (Eastern religion tells us) we're coming from a place where we're all created Godlike and the distractions of society get in our way,'' he said. "Whereas other religions kind of tell us we're sinful from the start and we have to repent throughout our lives.''

Casey admitted he's not sold on Buddhist rituals, which remind him too much of Catholicism.

He added, "(Buddhist) monks embrace the teachings of Christ and all the great religious leaders. They walk the walk, and they talk the talk.''

Leaders from the Denver Area Interfaith Clergy Council served up a veritable smorgasbord of religious viewpoints before the Dalai Lama's presentation, with prayers for Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and American Indians.

The Dalai Lama called on the world's religious leaders to promote a message of internal and external disarmament, including the destruction of all nuclear weapons.

"Some people think this goes too far,'' he said. "Certain things look impractical ... (but) once a certain idea is in our mind and accordingly make an effort, then it is possible to achieve.''

The Tibetan leader urged people to love their children, communicate with each other and nurture an optimistic, self-confident, determined attitude in themselves.

"In our society, we pay too much attention to material (wealth),'' he said.

Some of the audience missed that message, busy as they were perusing a table of souvenirs, including bundles of incense, prayer beads and books on Buddhist symbols. Laminated wallet-sized photos of the Dalai Lama were going fast at $4 apiece.

"Peaceful world will not come from sky or Earth,'' the Dalai Lama said.

"It's in our own hands.''