Dalai Lama, 1979

This past Saturday, the 14th Dala Lama, His Holiness Tensin Gyatso (or as the Library of Congress says, Bstan-,dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, Dd 1935-) visited Berkeley. He has been in Berkeley at least four times and visited GTU twice.

On his first visit to the United States, he gave a lecture at GTU on October 1, 1979. This was ten years before the archives was officially created, so there is not much on the event. In searching the archives, there are three photos that document the day, two showing President and Dean Claude Welch with the Dalai Lama. The bottom photo is where the bookstore used to be. The date was located in correspondence in Welch's records. Hopefully, more information will be found.

The library has a few books on his early tours: Kindness, clarity and insight (BQ7612 .B77 1984) is a collection of his talks during his visits to North America from 1979-81; and Marcia Keegan's Teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (BQ7935.B774 T42) provides many photographs along with his responses to questions during the 1979-80 visits. Curiously, the Kindness, Clarity and Insight book has a lecture on the "Two Truths" given at UC-Berkeley during this period. Perhaps this was the lecture given at the GTU, as UCB does not report the Dalai Lama speaking there until 1994, or perhaps they heard the "Religious Harmony: Ecumenical Gatherings throughout North America" lecture.

Here's one quote from "Two Truths"

"In dependence on ultimate truths wisdom is developed, and in dependence upon conventional truths compassion and kindness toward others is meditated. These two, wisdom and compassion, must be practiced in union; this is the path of the union of wisdom and method." (Kindness, clarity and insight , pp 198-199)