Dalai Lama Calls for Compassion & Kindness
 Sometimes words are overused and they seem to lose their meaning. When I say
that message presented by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Wood River High School
Stadium in Haley, Idaho on September 11th, was transformational for me, I mean
it. I mean it sincerely.
I had bicycled six miles to get to event along with my host Rev. John Moreland
and members of his congregation from the Light on the Mountains Spiritual
Center, a United Religious Science Church. Upon entering the grounds, and going
through security, we were given a cata, a white cloth that I was told was both a
traditional gift and a blessing. We were also given bottles of mineral water and
arm wristbands with the message COMPASSION on them. After we
arrived, the stadium continued to fill. People of all ages were present. The
crowd was very serene and relaxed. There were local town folk as well as people
from around the state and the country there from all sorts of backgrounds and
walks of life. Before the first presentation, and without any prompting, there
was a loud silence which lasted for about fifteen minutes. The faint sound of
some Tibetan music could be heard coming from the main stage area.
Then under a pristine blue Idaho sky, Governor Dick Kempthorne, introduced the
events host, Kiril Sokoloff, who spoke with passion of this being a tipping
point for the consciousness of peace and compassion on the planet. He asked who
would be willing to make a commitment to compassion and mine and some other
20,000+ hands went up. Mr. Sokoloff then introduced His Holiness the Dalai Lama
who spoke for about an hour and twenty minutes on peace, compassion, and
kindness and the importance of not giving up on the world. He called for hope,
determination, and dialogue to resolve differences without resorting to anger
and violence.
The Dalai Lama told the 10,000 plus in attendance and those watching on
television, that he sometimes gets angry, but he doesn’t act on the anger. He
called on everyone to grow in their compassion and in their way of being
compassionate in the world. He said that if you want to have a compassionate
society, realize that society is made up of individuals. As individuals begin to
live more compassionately with one another, society becomes more compassionate.
We change society on individual at a time. When asked what we could do to
influence our government to be more compassionate. He said, “Don’t expect your
leaders to fall from the sky. You are Americans. If enough of you tell you
elected officials to make compassion important, they will make it important.”
Since getting back, there has been a very real and recognizable shift in me. I
embarrassed to admit that I realized the way I viewed things in parts of my
life, was less than kind and compassionate. Often I was intolerant of intolerant
people. I was bigoted of bigoted people. With that realization I am choosing
kindness as one of my cornerstones of living. No matter what happens to me, I
realize that it is my thoughts about it produce within me produce my heaven or
my hell. I realize that in choosing to respond as kindness, I reap the heaven I
sow.
Peace IS.
Rev. Mike Gerdes
Peace Committee Chair
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