UW News

February 28, 2008

Dalai Lama to speak with students

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama will speak with students from regional public and private universities and community colleges from 3 to 5 p.m. April 14, in the Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson. This special convocation, part of His Holiness’ five-day visit to Seattle for the Seeds of Compassion initiative, will engage students and the world figure in a discussion centered on compassion and civic responsibility.

Institutions will receive an allotment of tickets and students will be able to register online beginning in mid-March. Although students will be given preference, faculty and staff may also request tickets. The URL for the Web site will be announced later.

The University will confer an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for His Holiness’ humanitarianism, his advocacy of non-violence, and his promotion of compassion, responsibility and understanding.

“This is a timely opportunity for our campus,” said Ed Taylor, dean and vice provost of undergraduate academic affairs. “Civic engagement and compassion are imbued in our mission and a part of who we are. Students, faculty and staff show compassion and civic engagement daily through service to others, mentorship, tutoring, thoughtful research and advising that focuses on the whole student. We’re looking forward to this opportunity to connect students from the UW and other colleges with His Holiness.”

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama is pleased to participate in this important dialogue with the college students of Washington,” added Lama Tenzin Dhonden, co-founder of Seeds of Compassion and the personal emissary for peace for the Dalai Lama. “He particularly enjoys speaking with students and engaging in a lively discussion. As His Holiness recently told us, ‘They, the younger generation, are the real basis for our hope.'”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who describes himself as “a simple Buddhist monk,” is a man of peace. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet and most recently was awarded the Gold Medal of the U.S. Congress, the highest honor for a non-American. He has consistently advocated policies of nonviolence, even in the face of extreme aggression.

Seeds of Compassion is an initiative dedicated to focusing world attention on the importance of social and emotional development of children. For more information about events during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit April 11-15, go to www.seedsofcompassion.org.