During the New Year celebration so many people visited Dharamsala wanting to meet the Dalai Lama that he invited all international visitors to an impromptu gathering. Over 500 people from 40 countries showed up. Instead of sitting inside his temple, he sat on a chair placed on the steps of the courtyard facing the visitors who sat on the courtyard floor. He first greeted the people with thanks for making the effort to come and visit him. He then spoke of some of his favorite themes: compassion - the ultimate source of a happy life is warmheartedness; interdependence – our interests and others’ interests are very much interconnected – we are all part of the seven billion human beings and our survival totally depends on others’ care; altruism – if you think only of yourself, even a tiny problem appears unbearable. If you think more about others’ wellbeing, your mind opens wider and your own problem appear insignificant. This was followed by a question and answer session. Even in this informal setting, he listens carefully to the questions and responds to them earnestly. If the questions raised points, he perhaps hasn’t previously considered, he would contemplate a bit longer. He was clearly enjoying exchanging ideas with people from many nations and of all ages and learning something new.
As the above example illustrates, access to the Dalai Lama is surprisingly relatively easy, unlike situations surrounding other heads of state and religions. That’s why so many people travel to visit him. Clearly, he gets energized by greeting and meeting unexpected visitors. He is accessible and authentic: simply stated, what you see is what you get. He has nothing to hide and his only agenda is to promote the development of the human potential.
