Thursday 13 September 2007

There are meetings that make a lasting impression on you. For the last 4 and a half years I have been hitchhiking around the globe. As you can well imagine, I’ve had a certain number of meetings with people. Some of those people are known to the public at large, others not at all. While many had a strong impact on me, others had much less so. At the conclusion of my adventure (January 1st, 2008), I will make a list of the people I met during my tour who had the greatest influence on me for different reasons. Without a doubt, at the top of this list will appear the person I just met 2 days ago. Still feeling the effects of this meeting, it’s with great joy that I will attempt to share with you this extraordinary moment that I will remember all my life.

On our planet there are a certain number of people I admire a lot. If I had to name one person I admire more than all the others for his contribution to humanity, I would not hesitate for a second: it would be the name of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This man, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, represents to my eyes more than a simple spiritual leader, or even the leader of the Tibetan people. He is without a doubt the best possible ambassador of peace on the Earth. A sort of icon of wisdom and non-violence, a veritable model for all humanity, a man ready to give all his energy to go to the 4 corners of the world to promote a dialog between religions and beliefs. If the dove is the bird most often used to represent peace, the Dalai Lama is without a doubt its equivalent among men.

Meeting the Dalai Lama is a dream I’ve cherished for a very long time. Every time I would look at my map of the world and prepare for the next step of my world tour, my eyes would stay fixed on the little hamlet of Dharamsala, situated in the north of India, where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government reside, forced into exile in 1959 after the terrible Chinese invasion that has destroyed, bit by bit, the Tibetan identity.

Having made a visit to Dharamsala a priority in my journey, I had contacted the Dalai Lama’s secretariat a year earlier by internet. In my email, I explained my journey, the lectures I give in schools around the world, the book I plan to write next year, and above all my wish to meet the Dalai Lama while I am in the region. Sadly, while the response I received was rapid, it was negative. The number of such requests is too great, and the secretariat refuses the vast majority of them. Disappointed but not without hope, I allowed some time to pass and I contacted the secretariat again after about 3 months, when I consulted the Dalai Lama’s schedule and proposed a place for the meeting. This new request was met with a new denial. Still motivated and not yet beaten, I went to the place itself 3 weeks ago, a 12 hour journey from the Indian capital, in order to meet the secretary in person. Once I was face to face with the secretary, it was possible for me to give more details about my journey and my motivations. This meeting was what it took to finally tip the balance in my favor. After 2 weeks of uncertainty, the final response was given to me : “Be here at 12 :30 in front of the office of the government in exile; we will take you inside the residence and you can meet the Dalai Lama for several minutes. Understand that this won’t be a private audience; it will be a very informal meeting.” Gladdened by this new turn of events, it was with a certain amount of nervousness but above all with great enthusiasm that I arrived before noon at the appointed place for the meeting.

Over the course of 3 days (between September 3-5), the Dalai Lama gave a lecture touching on Buddhism, on meditation, but also on his philosophy and his vision of the world. Several thousand people came to Dharamsala to hear him. The timings of the conference were from 9:00 to 11:00, then 1:00 to 3:00. My meeting, therefore, had to happen just before his “return on stage,” in the space of several minutes.

12:50 came. Once through the various security measures (passport examined, body search completed), I followed a Buddhist monk who let me to the inside court of the Dalai Lama’s residence. He asked me to wait patiently for the arrival of the Dalai Lama in a peaceful place. My heart was racing and I awaited his arrival with impatience. Several minutes passed and then he arrived, a smile on his lips and 2 hands joined in a sign of prayer and respect. He approached me, looked at me, and his gaze went right through me as if he was able to see deep inside me and read my thoughts. It was a gaze filled with power, with wisdom, with love, and with mastery. I was a bit overwhelmed and I wondered if I would be able to speak to him. Should I thank him for everything he does and for all he represents? Should I tell him I admire him and that he is a great source of inspiration for me, like for so many others? Should I simply tell him my story?

His secretary (his right hand man) was at his side and came towards me to introduce me in Tibetan. The Dalai Lama shook my hand and said to me in English: “You are hitchhiking around the world, that’s very good,” and he looked at the laminated map that I had with me and asked “From where did you start?” I explained my route to him and he replied, “All that by hitchhiking? Is that possible? Does that work everywhere?”. I responded, and he smiled while I told him why I like hitchhiking (to meet the locals). See the photos below while explaining.

His secretary then added that I give lectures in schools and universities and that I try to pass on his messages about “universal responsibility” all over the globe. He again shook my hand and said, “very good, good luck” then placed a silk scarf around my neck. Photo below.

A magic moment. Without a doubt, I will safeguard and keep this scarf a very long time. Next, a photo was taken and a final word of thanks was said.

It was a short encounter (about 3 minutes in total) but very intense. This man has an impressive aura and exudes serenity, calm, and also happiness, as he is always in good spirits and ready to joke and laugh. Meeting this man will stay with me as one of the most meaningful moments of my tour of the world, if not of my whole life!!!

Several days earlier, I had the occasion to live through another very interesting experience: a lecture in a Tibetan school in Dharamsala. In this school, Tibetan children, exiles for all of their dozen or so years, learn Tibetan language and culture despite the distance that separates them from their occupied country. So I shared my adventure, my experiences in Tibet , and spoke to these children about the world around us, these children who had never set food in their country, considered today by Beijing as a Chinese province like all the others.

At the end of my presentation, numerous questions were asked of me: “Did you go to Potala (former residence of the Dalai Lama), can you describe it please? “What did you feel when you were over there?” “Are there more Chinese than Tibetans in Lhasa (capital of Tibet )?”, “Did you meet any nice Chinese during your time in China ?” “Is there any Tibetan culture left in Tibet ?” “Do you believe that we will someday be able to return to our country?” “Do you think Tibetan culture will survive?” “What do you think of the current situation?” ... To answer these questions without offending their sensibility was quite a challenge, but very interesting. My position while I was responding to these questions was the same one espoused by the Dalai Lama, to encourage no hatred toward the Chinese people, and to explain that the problem is, above all, a political one (granted, the Chinese people have a role to play, but to explain that to 12 year old children is not an easy task). I certainly tried to be compassionate and to give them hope that they will regain their territory sooner or later, even if no recent events allow me to justify this position ...

Below, several photos with some of the young Tibetans.

To close, 2 photos taken in the region of Dharamsala, and one message from the Dalai Lama:

See you soon!

Ludo

Web www.sekoyamag.com

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