Dalai Lama draws 65,000 in Seattle
The exiled Tibetan leader says dialogue can make enemies into friends. He hopes for an end to nuclear weapons.
SEATTLE — In a speech focused on fostering compassion in children, the Dalai Lama urged those gathered in a pro football stadium Saturday to support not only nuclear disarmament, but an "inner disarmament."
Speaking to an estimated 65,000 people in the packed stadium, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader said that nuclear weapons have provided a deterrent at times, but they may no longer be useful.
"Nobody dares to use nuclear weapons," he said. "Now I think we should think seriously about elimination of all nuclear weapons." Genuine disarmament will require willpower, he said, and dissolution of hatred, jealousy and fear.
Mostly sidestepping the issue of political turmoil in Tibet, the 72-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk delivered an upbeat message of compassion, equality, humanity and happiness. His appearance is part of a five-day Seeds of Compassion campaign that continues through Tuesday in Seattle.
The Dalai Lama's tour came as protests along the Olympic torch route over Chinese treatment of Tibetans were being staged in several countries. He arrived in Seattle a day after demonstrators disrupted the torch run in San Francisco. The long-planned Seattle visit has been virtually without controversy.
The Dalai Lama planned to make remarks this morning concerning the situation in Tibet, which has seen recent violence and rioting. The Buddhist leader fled to India in 1959 after a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule failed.
In Seattle on Saturday, Qwest Field -- regarded by many as the loudest outdoor stadium in the National Football League -- took on a contemplative tone for the day.
The Dalai Lama spoke of having a "genuine sense of compassion toward your enemy" and said compassion could transform the world. He playfully extolled the virtues of cultivating inner strength.
In a scene patterned after the opening of the Olympics, a procession of 1,000 people representing the cultures of the state of Washington entered the stadium, passed before the main stage and then moved into the stands. Children carried the flags of Tibet and more than a dozen countries and peoples. The sound of dozens of drums filled the air.
The Dalai Lama watched the procession from a red upholstered chair on a stage set with yellow pillars and a white canopy. At the center of the field was a bright yellow circle with a heart shape inside a flower -- the logo of Seeds of Compassion.
