Meeting the Dalai Lama

Originally published on my blog 2013/01/02

In April of 2004, I got a chance to cross paths with his Holiness the Dalai Lama. I was awaiting his arrival, sitting patiently in the front area of a room that was packed with international media along with their fancy cameras and credentials. I’ve never experienced anything quite like this – we were all under this hot light bulb, waiting to go off at any moment. The energy in the room was palpable and I was meeting some of the most fascinating people ranging from journalists, to book authors, to documentarians. Their stories often no less interesting than that of the special guest we were all anticipating that day.

When the Dalai Lama finally entered the room and took his seat, he waved in my direction, greeting me. Was he waving to me? Surely not. It felt just like a moment from a typical slapstick comedy, so I looked behind me to see who the Dalai Lama was in fact waving to. When I turned back, he was laughing kindly. I pointed to myself, quizzically asking, “Are you waving to me i…