story by Joe Southern and Thom Beal & photo by Patrick Kramer

The Daily Times-Call, Monday, June 2, 1997

DENVER - Surrounded by leaders of many religions, the Dalai Lama on Sunday implored all people to "join together in a common prayer toward a common good peace in the world."

Speaking before a nearly full house at McNichols Sports Arena Sunday night, the exiled spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people spoke of tolerance and peace at many levels, from the interpersonal to worldwide peace. The Buddhist monk was joined by representatives of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and American Indian faiths.

The two-hour interfaith service, hosted by the Colorado Friends of Tibet, featured music, chants and dance by Tibetan and American Indian performers, as well as the Colorado Children's Chorale. Mayor Wellington Webb greeted the Dalai Lama with a proclamation declaring the weekend "Dalai Lama Days" in Denver.

The 61-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner joked frequently, poking fun at his age and his broken English.

"I want to warn you that as I am getting older my broken English is also getting older," he said. "Please, careful when you listen my broken English."

Bouncing between languages with the aid of a translator, the Dalai Lama decried materialism in society and the "poverty of values" blamed for breaking up homes and nations.

He outlined a four-part plan for bringing peace in the world, which includes meeting with people of different traditions and different faiths and organizing a political movement in which world leaders would come together to pray for peace.

"We need to find proper way to solve these conflicts other than violence," he said.

Expounding his desire for "genuine self-rule" for Tibet - which was occupied by China in 1950 - the Dalai Lama harped upon his desire for non-violent means of resolving conflict and the end of the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"Eventually we should have as a mission a world without armaments," he said.

Near the end of his speech, the Dalai Lama answered questions from the audience.

When asked what his personal quest was aside from Tibetan independence, he quipped, "That's my secret!" He went on to explain that he wanted to spend more time in meditation in some remote area like a wild animal.

On advice for parents he said to be good parents.

"Divorce should be seen as last resort," he said. "Marriage should not be taken hurriedly. You should know one another ... If you respect the other partner, marriage can be long lasting."

When asked what enlightenment is, he pointed at the ceiling and said "there's a light." Once the laughter died down, he spoke about the different levels of consciousness and self-awareness.

Earlier, at the Naropa Institute's Spirituality in Education conference in Boulder, the Dalai Lama spoke to nearly 500 educators and students some of them converts to Buddhism.

The participants welcomed the monk with a rousing rendition of the anti-war spiritual "Down By the Riverside." Many danced and clapped their hands.

"I didn't understand the meaning," the Dalai Lama said, grinning from cheek to cheek. "But I can see by your faces you really enjoyed that."

He told his mainly white, affluent, well-educated listeners that all human beings desire happiness and that the path to achieving it lies through the cultivation and practice of compassion, kindness and non-violence.

These "inner values" are under siege in the high-tech, materialistic societies of the industrialized West, he said.

He then told a story about a group of 1,000 Tibetan refugees who after several years left Switzerland for poverty-stricken India.

"They said this is a nice place for making money, but not a nice place to die," the Dalai Lama said, laughing.

Westerners rely too much on "external means to solve their problems," he said. "There is a way of looking at human beings as objects. We need to rely more on our inner resources.

"An open heart and smile brings more friends, more reliable friends and more fortune," he added.

Some of the participants sat in the lotus position and meditated deeply on the Dalai Lama's words even as he advised them to stick with the Judeo-Christian religious tradition in their search for enlightenment.

"Generally speaking, it is better to follow your own tradition," he said. "It is much easier and safer. In changing, sometimes unhappiness can result."