His Holiness brings Compassion to Seattle

The Dalai Lama has come to Seattle, which is perhaps, in temperament, the most Asian of American cities. He has brought a simple message -- compassion.

A little too simple for the news media, I'm afraid. What the hell can you write about compassion? First of all, you realize, of course, that Tibetan autonomy is a huge international issue at present, especially with its potential effect on the Beijing Olympics? The Dalai Lama is the exiled ruler of Tibet. He must have plenty to say about that, right? But no. He comes all the way to Seattle and talks about compassion.

The Dalai Lama spoke at length on the subject to an audience of over 50,000 at Qwest Field. The Sunday Seattle Times devoted nearly 2 1/2 pages of coverage to the event, much of it to the reaction of individuals who had heard him talk. (They were moved by the speech, and discussed their ideas for showing more compassion in their own lives.) So what exactly did the Dalai Lama say?

He urged people to use nonviolent dialogue to resolve problems — whether at the family, community, national or global level, saying the 21st century should be the "century of dialogue."

Nonviolence is not just the absence of violence, he said, but facing problems with determination, vision and a wider perspective, while "deliberately resisting using force."

To do that, "external disarmament" is needed, he said, advocating elimination of all nuclear weapons.

But people also need "inner disarmament" — to not let emotions like suspicion and fear take control. To achieve that, simply praying or meditating isn't enough, he said. Compassion has to be promoted.

The Dalai Lama reiterated some of the points he made during public appearances Friday, including his belief that compassion has a biological component, and his call for compassion to extend to not just one's friends but also one's enemies.

"Everyone has right to overcome suffering."

The Dalai Lama is a man of great holiness. Everyone who meets him is impressed. And yet, the above was the best synopsis our local press could give of his talk, a talk that obviously had made a profound impression on many members of his audience.

The Seattle Times is a good newspaper. I think journalists in general just find it extraordinarily difficult to present and interpret spiritual ideas and the individuals who teach them. Next week, Pope Benedict XVI comes to America. Papal visits are more familiar ground for journalists. The liturgy makes for good color photos, and the Holy See is a political as well as religious entity. And the media already is full of questions, the kind you ask politicians: What's the pope going to make of the independent-minded American laity? Abortion, gays, birth control? Is he going to crack down on the church in America? Or will he treat Americans with kid gloves? How does his visit fit into President Bush's political ideology?

But, the New York Times predicts that the pope will avoid all these "hot topics," and prefer instead to present a "plea for compassion." That "compassion" word again?

What a let down that would be!

Roman Catholicism and Tibetan Buddhism seem to exist at opposite theological poles in many respects. Each no doubt appears philosophically bizarre to the other. But if, independently, the leaders of these two religions should visit America within a week of each other, preaching the overriding need for "compassion," that can only be good news -- even if not journalistically fascinating news.

Compassion for the weak, for the voiceless, for sinners, for the lonely, for the old, for the suffering. Compassion for the poor and for the immigrant. Compassion for the victims of globalization. Compassion for the earth itself, the victim of global warming.

A famous Catholic writer, a Trappist monk, spent the last years of his life studying Buddhist spirituality and its focus on compassion. Thomas Merton wrote these words, words with which any Buddhist could easily agree:

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.”

Easterner and Westerner. Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu. Secular humanist. Whatever our continuing differences in theology and philosophy, we should all be able to agree on a common striving for mutual compassion. Whatever else our respective religious beliefs teach us, they should lead us to a compassion for others that is not simply sentimentality, but a burning desire to alleviate the suffering of others and increase their happiness -- in whatever way each of us is capable.

Thanks to the Dalai Lama for visiting. He is worth hearing. Let's listen.