Yesterday, by any measure, was a remarkable day. I think it will resonate with me for a long time. It really kicked into gear when the Lovely Carla and I found ourselves standing on Jackson Street waiting for the betting parlour to open. There was a small group of "wise guys," waiting to get in, either to cash a ticket (I was one of those) or to get a good table for a day of racing. It was an odd collection of lone wolf type dudes (the Lovely Carla kind of stood out). Are these really "my people?" I left the place with a cool $225 (I bet $71), thanks to my horse, Street Sense.
Then it was off to Millenium Park to see the Dali Lama. What can I say? It was a beautiful program of music, chanting, a few nice preliminary speeches and then with very little fanfare, the 14th Reincarnation of the Manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion walked onto the stage. What a humble, graceful, funny, profound, beautiful human being! One really got the feeling you were in the presence of grace. It's hard to convey the feeling that snuck up on me. I came with an open mind and heart, but I had no clue that this little dude would touch me so deeply. I can't explain it, but the Lovely Carla and I both shed a tear or two (no really, to be honest, I cried a couple of times, the sadness welled up, brought on by the beauty of the choir voices and the simple honesty of the Buddhist way) listening to the wise words of this extraordinary man.
He makes no grand claims, he's not really "selling" anything. He talked about the need for "unbiased compassion," and hope. He smiled and laughed and joked with the audience. Here is a man who "walks the walk," he has been banished from his country, and well, he's now not just Tibet's Dali Lama (Ocean of Wisdom) but the world's. I don't think it was a coincidence that the music, and the choir, and the dance troupe were all populated by children. Really hope is always invested in the world that could be.
It was three hour program that flew by. We were both kind of stunned. I really did kind of float in a sort of bliss. It's rare to see an event that celebrates the best of us. And that's a sad thing too. The final image of the Dali Lama as he bowed and then walked off stage...a contingent of secret service agents, covering him, hovering, looking for the bullet or blunt instrument. Yes, that is the reality of the world we live in.
There are actors in the world, doing "bad" things. We must have compassion for the actors...they are fellow human beings. If we give up compassion, hope, well, then we are lost...
I do love this concept of reincarnation, whether it's true or not, it would mean that you should care about the future, because you may be coming back, and what you do today will determine if you come back and in what type of incarnation - a slug, a rat, a human being, a Buddha...but as one of the Buddhists said yesterday..."if you like what you hear, take it, if you don't, leave it." Sounds just about right to me.
The Dali Lama is a rare combination, a man of belief, but a believer in the small things, practical things, a man with a great curiosity and trust in science. A wonderful combination of East and West. He truly is a man of this time. And we need human beings like him...yes, we do.