Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer

San Francisco, Tuesday, June 10, 1997 (San Francisco Chronicle) - Hundreds of teenagers and young adults sat before the Dalai Lama some awestruck by his presence, others frustrated and eager to talk about their lives.

Some came to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to listen, hoping to glean a snippet of wisdom from the world's most famous Buddhist.

Others came to be heard, to talk about racism, poverty, gang violence, dysfunctional schools, broken families and an adult world that just doesn't get it.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama of Tibet, listened patiently to the long line of young people standing behind a microphone and joining him on stage.

"If I grew up in such a society, I would still be complaining," the Dalai Lama said.

"I have no idea how to solve all this," he added. "You come from this society. You know better. But I have learned very much from you."

Yesterday's meeting between the Dalai Lama and Northern California youth who asked the Tibetan leader a wide range of questions opened a three-day conference on "Peacemaking: The Power of Nonviolence," featuring meditation teachers, psychologists and social activists.

Asked by a young woman if any of his previous incarnations had been as a woman, the Dalai Lama said they'd all been men. "But in the future," he added, "there is nothing wrong with there being a female Dalai Lama."

Asked by another young woman if he thought the best way to treat depression was with meditation or with medication, he said his own brother struggles with depression. "Both approaches are necessary," he said.

Jason Murphy of Santa Cruz, who counsels young people with drug and alcohol problems, said he hoped the session would be the first of many great talks over the next three days.

"It's important that young people be able to talk with men and women who have some insight into ways to eradicate violence," said Murphy, 25.

Earlier in the day, more than 2,500 people filled a sold-out Civic Auditorium for an opening plenary session featuring the Dalai Lama, writer Alice Walker, actor/activist Edward James Olmos and other speakers.

"We are all the same," the Dalai Lama said. "Our differences religious, cultural, rich and poor are labels, just man's imagination. All these are minor. The important thing is that we are all human, with two eyes and one nose."

Meditation teacher Stephen Levine, who is best known for his work on death and dying, said he has seen too many people wait until their final days to make peace with themselves.

"To make peace with your life on your deathbed," he said, "seems a little late."

"Perhaps the way to end the suffering in the world is to face our own suffering," Levine said. "And then to see that it's not just my difficult parents, or the color of my skin, or the difficulties in my world. It's the difficulties in the world."

In the end, the Dalai Lama was asked to sum it all up.

"All agree on one point," he said. "The problems facing society are related to problems of the heart."

Speaking partly in Tibetan and partly in English, the Dalai Lama predicted that the next hundred years will be "a more peaceful and more compassionate century."

"More and more people from different backgrounds are saying with one voice, `We need more compassion,'" he said. "That is a hopeful sign."