The University of Calgary is pleased to welcome His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama as an honoured guest at NOW – a two-day event and conference from September 30th to October 1st, 2009.

Tickets for the Dalai Lama's public address at Calgary, Alberta's Pengrowth Saddledome are no longer available. Officials are optimistic that additional tickets may be released when stage configurations are finalized.

Two-day packages are also sold out. Tickets for the one-day conference which includes appearances by F.W. de Klerk (he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela), the Dalai Lama, Bryan Adams, K.D. Lang and actor, Sandra Oh are still available.

"The Dalai Lama helps serve lunch at a San Francisco soup kitchen on Sunday, April 26, 2009.
Speaking as Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, he told visitors "Me too, homeless person.'"
-Photo by Noah Berger for the Associated Press via Rev. Danny Fisher

MORE ABOUT TICKET INFORMATION...

"Fifty years after Chinese rule began, Tibet's leader is still in exile, and many fear chaos will erupt if the conflict with China isn't resolved within his lifetime." -HEADLINE FROM GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE

So where does that leave the people in Tibet and in the future, for Buddhism in the west? Read this comprehensive article from Canada's national newspaper. Here are some short excerpts:

In the minds of many, the Tibetan struggle and the current incarnation of the Dalai Lama, 73-year-old Tenzin Gyatso, are inextricably linked. Which is why — after a series of health scares in recent months — this year's anniversary of the Tibetan uprising is accompanied by rising concern over what might happen if the spiritual and political leader of Tibet were to die or become incapacitated before he has the chance to return home to the official residence in Lhasa he fled with his followers in 1959.

The spiritual and political ruler of Tibet through the years. First as a four-year-old peasant child about the time he was chosen Dalai Lama, as a 15-year-old wearing a gold peaked cap that is his crown and during a 1956 visit to India. Photo: Associated Press

"There's no doubt that life without the Dalai Lama, in the current state we're in, would be a terrible blow," said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, one of an array of Tibetan exile groups opposed to Beijing's rule. "It's going to be awful if things are not resolved in his lifetime."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL...

The Dalai Lama congratulated US President-elect Barack Obama on his election victory on November 4 with the following letter:

 

Dear President-elect Obama,
 
Congratulations on your election as the President of the United States of America.
 
I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.
 
The American Presidential elections are always a great source of encouragement to people throughout the world who believe in democracy, freedom and equality of opportunities.
 
May I also commend the determination and moral courage that you have demonstrated throughout the long campaign, as well as the kind heart and steady hand that you often showed when challenged.  I recall our own telephone conversation this spring and these same essential qualities came through in your concern for the situation in Tibet.
 
As the President of the United States, you will certainly have great and difficult tasks before you, but also many opportunities to create change in the lives of those millions who continue to struggle for basic human needs.  You must also remember and work for these people, wherever they may be.
 
With my prayers and good wishes,
 
Yours sincerely,
 THE DALAI LAMA

COURTESY FREETIBET.ORG...

"Since China wants to join the world community," the 14th Dalai Lama said as I was traveling across Japan with him for a week last November, "the world community has a real responsibility to bring China into the mainstream." The whole world stands to gain, he pointed out, from a peaceful and unified China—not least the 6 million Tibetans in China and Chinese-occupied Tibet. "But," he added, "genuine harmony must come from the heart. It cannot come from the barrel of a gun."
READ MORE FROM TIME MAGAZINE...

Steve Varon is a businessman from New York with a vision and a goal of having the Dali Lama carry the Olympic torch during the Beijing Olympics later this year. If you know even the slightest bit about world politics, you know that the concept of the Dali Lama participating in an Olympics being held in China is difficult to conceive.  Yet Steve pushes forward, having obtained the green light from the Dali Lama himself, as well as positive feedback from many world leaders.

What iconic image could say more about world peace than the Dali Lama participating in this event. 
blog excerpt courtesy: jordanayan.typepad.com

November 10, Winnipeg Free Press
By Joe Paraskevas

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have received all the inspiration they should need to win their playoff game Sunday. The Dalai Lama, one of the world's holiest figures, has emerged as a surprise Big Blue booster. "Victory to the Blue Bombers," he scribbled in Tibetan with a black Sharpie marker on some Winnipeg Blue Bomber equipment, adding his name to the lore of this city's Grey Cup-seeking CFL team.

Allan Nimmo/Special to the Winnipeg Free Press

The Bombers play the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division semifinal in Winnipeg on Sunday. The exiled Tibetan leader signed the helmet and an official CFL football as he flew to Ottawa two weeks ago.
READ THE ARTICLE IN THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS...

October 17, New York Times

Over furious objections from China and in the presence of President Bush, Congress on Wednesday bestowed its highest civilian honor on the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists whom Beijing considers a troublesome voice of separatism.
READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES...

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet with the Dalai Lama in October. The meeting has Chinese officials very upset. Especially since the meeting will take place on government grounds.

"We are against the provision of venues by foreign countries to the Dalai Lama's secessionist activities and also against foreign dignitaries meeting with him." -Statement by Chinese officials to the Globe and Mail

The Chinese, who have run a behind-the-scenes campaign to prevent a formal meeting between the Tibetan leader and the prime minister, claim that the Dalai Lama is not a mere religious figure. Instead, they argue that he is a political figure who aims to split their country apart.

The Dalai Lama has had positive results recently on the world stage. Last year, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a bill giving the Dalai Lama a Congressional Gold Medal, once again over Chinese objections. More recently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to meet with the Dalai Lama at the chancellery in Berlin in September.

By the way, did you know that the Dalai Lama and George W. Bush have the same birthday (July 6). A good reason not to depend on astrology.

The Dalai Lama is welcomed to the White House by President Bush on September 10, 2003. (White House)