It was as if it were a dream, or a movie. Seattle had drizzly grey skies and gusty winds the day before, but Sat. the skies cleared, the sun came out all day, hitting a high of 78, and there was a perfect light breeze. The setting for seeing His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama at Seattle's Qwest Feild couldn't have been better.  I was 1 of the lucky 50,000 plus to be able to be there.  

The entire event was...well... long. A little over 3 hours. But, with a very 'warm' feeling through-out the stadium, a great opening march of many ethnic cultural groups in traditional costumes, and inspiring opening speaches, it actually went very fast.

His Holiness spoke in a very authoritive tone, challenging everyone to live a life of compassion in their daily lives. A simple sounding idea, yet so very difficult for many of us to keep in mind. He would often laugh after a light hearted comment he made which would make the crowd laugh along with him. There were times it was hard to understand some of his speach, but it was ok since no fine details were needed to know what he was trying to say.

He avoided the topic of the growing tension in China, but there was actually a small plane that flew over head at 1 point with a banner that read: 'Please stop supporting the riots' . It seemed to have little effect on anyone though. The Dalai Lama looked up at it and spoke breifly with his interpetor.

It's hard to believe I was able to see a person I consider a mentor of sorts. This will probably be his last visit to the states too. So I feel both very lucky, and blessed. He spoke with such a open, honest heart. There were people crying tears of joy as they listened to his distinctly charming voice, others sat in a meditation position with legs crossed and shoes off, but everyone was smiling.

PEACE!