I was in the presence of the Dalai Lama (2007-10-29)

(Originally posted on 29 October 2007.)

… for about 30 seconds this morning.

He came to the building where I work to meet with government officials. Word spread that he was coming so several of my colleagues and I went down to the entrance. Being short, I made my way to the front of the crowd (actually wasn’t much of a crowd yet when we got there) to watch and wait. On the opposite side of the entry way the camera crews were waiting…

After a five-minute wait he arrived. He was dressed in a simple red robe, and accompanied by one other monk and multiple Canadian men in suits. As he passed, many people raised their cameras and cell-phones and began snapping pictures. The Dalai Lama held his hands up in an attitude of prayer and smiled and bowed at us. I responded with a similar gesture – seemed to be the respectful thing to do. Don’t know if he noticed, as he’d pretty much passed by then.

Much as I, too, like to get pictures of “royalty” (i.e. important figures), I find it bothersome when all or most of the people lined up have cameras to their faces as the VIP passes.

My mind on this was made up many years ago, when I was just a teenager in Alberta and joined the crowd thronging the parade route where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were to pass. Despite my having arrived hours in advance in order to get a “front-row” view, I and many others were pushed out of our prime spots by security people who set up barricades and reserved the front section for officials too important to come early and stand around like the rest of us. Finally Princess Di arrived in the cavalcade, leaning out the window and waving. But I’m sure all she saw was a line of cameras pointing her way. That hardly seemed like a friendly welcome to me. Where is the humanity in that? Where is the connection to the people? To be certain, she (and many other VIPs) will never actually get to mix with the plebes, but surely we can connect with her/them on a more human level, by simply showing our faces and smiling and waving back.

Because frankly, the shots we get with our cameras as the important folks pass are rarely anything to write home about, and rarely show more than a small dot labelled (were we to label them) “VIP – if you can see her/him.”

Get your pictures from the papers, folks, or on post-cards or what have you, and when the VIP comes to town, show them you’re a human being, not a camera lens!

So even if the Dalai Lama didn’t notice my gesture, for my part I feel like I connected with him in some small way, by simply responding with a human gesture of respect, rather than as a memento-seeker.