very cool, i love those moments when you can feel the joy radiating from someone.  i have a priest like that, who literally *beams* when he smiles, and emanates joy.  it always helps me understand what it means to be in the presence of someone holy.

it also makes me just a touch envious, but i am working on that by cultivating my own radiance.  :)

I really love this story! My comment isn’t about the Dalai Lama, but the Shrine, however.

Many years ago I was helping a friend set up for his wedding reception the night before. The event was being held in the local Shrine building in their ball room.

It was a pretty nondescript building, but later that night after many beers, we all decided to do a little exploring. We crept up a long flight of stone stairs in the back of the building and came upon two huge doors. We opened them to what I loosely refer to as a room. It was more like a cavernous venue carpeted in red, rotund with clergy-like seats all around with two thrones gilted in gold presiding in the middle of the hall. The ceilings were gilted, sculpted gold and everything was so, well, 16th Century Royalty-like. There was a huge sarcarphagus with a large book, probably the Shrine guide or whatever you call it, in front of the thrones. It kinda freaked me out. I felt like if I stayed I was going to be offered up for ritual sacrifice after being caught in their lair.

I have a friend who works the Dali Lama’s “show” when he comes to L.A. every year.  She worked it at the Shrine when you saw him and she’s about to work it again at the Pasadena Civic where he does his thing these days.  I remember the first time she did the Dali Lama show she wasn’t all that enthused about it, but afterwards...well she looks forward to it every year as a wonderful, spiritual event.  The really cool thing is that the Dalai Lama himself, as well as his staff, always seem to remember her and are so kind and lovely.
What a great example of a spiritual life.

interesting.  last time i was at the shrine, i met an important eminence, too.  mine was The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, though....not the Dalai Lama.

i was doing backstage set up for a benefit show for the Christic Institute.  you may recall them as the people who put Ollie North on trial.....fat lot of good it did them.  but anyway, they were a great organization, and i did a lot of volunteer work for them.  because of my background in theatre, i volunteered to assist on this show....Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen. i really only wanted to see bonnie’s set...didn’t care a lot about the others.

as i was descending a precipitous backstage spiral staircase, a guy with dark curly hair was coming up.  we had to kind of sidle past one another, and we gave each other the obligatory “hi” grunt.  it wasn’t till i got to the next landing that i realized i had just passed Bruce Springsteen in close quarters. 

i have always thought that that was a pretty cool story, but i like yours better.

from bcn.....
lilsis