The Dalia Lama Talks Compassion with the Youth

As the Dalai Lama makes his way around the country on his “Engaging Compassion” tour, he made a stop in Louisville from May 19 to 21. Talking primarily to adults on Sunday and Monday, he made a change on Tuesday morning; his third talk was directed towards the youth, between fifth to twelfth grade.

Prohibiting everything from recording devices to gifts for His Holiness security was thick as over 2,000 students from all over Louisville filed into the Robert S. Whitney Hall Theatre in the Kentucky Center for Arts building. As the theatre began to fill Nawang Khechog, first Tibetan Grammy Nominee and renowned Tibetan Flutist in the world, played several Tibetan instruments for the students to set the mood of the theatre. Khechog has been a monk for eleven years under the guidance of the Dalai Lama. Through his music he tries to convey non-violence and compassion.

As the talk began students went up to talk about what compassion meant to them and in the middle of a Louisville Collegiate student’s speech, His Holiness walked out on stage and surprised the audience. Everyone seated in the auditorium was given a white scarf, known as a “khata,” to be a part of a tradition in Tibet, where the traditional scarf represents purity and compassion. They offered their scarves to him and wore them as a sign of respect.

The Dalai Lama was asked ten questions by the students. He connected the questions back to education, compassion, and happiness. His Holiness admitted that his biggest regret was not educating himself at a young age and encouraged students to continue their studies because that is the most important skill a person can have. When asked about technology and how he thinks it has damaged society, His Holiness expressed it is not technology that diminishes relationships but the way it is used that makes relationships suffer. The Dalai Lama also expressed interested in science, saying that it helps the world go around and encouraged students to study science.

A student from Collegiate brought up the four corner stones of their school: honor, responsibility, respect and compassion. She asked why compassion was the most important. The Dalai Lama talked about how honor, responsibility and respect are all based off of compassion.

At the end of the speech, the Dalai Lama allowed the students to remove their khata’s as a sign of good luck as he continues his travels in the United States.