Dalai Lama in Australia!

I found out about this a while ago but got disappointed as soon as I saw the date. Probably the one and only chance to see the Dalai Lama in person and I'll have to miss it! X(
*Sigh*
Having grown out of my silly celebrity crushes - he's probably the only famous person that I really want to see in person too.
What a BIG loss on my end!

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
-- Dalai Lama

I am not exactly religious, but I do find Buddhism soothing and a totally relate-able concept.
I studied the religion for a short while in my early childhood in Medan, Indonesia.
The concept of do good, be nice to others and rid of selfishness stayed with me.
I strongly believe that they are good for the humanity and I do try to practice that (well - most of the time...).

Anyway - because I was unable to accept the fact of losing that opportunity graciously, I decided to forget about the event.

But today, I stumbled upon a well written article on His Holiness in the 25th Anniversary edition of The Age Good Weekend, reading it while munching my yummy Poached Eggs on Toast with Mushroom and Tomato Relish from my favorite brunch place, Amici Bakery, Prahran.
The writer did a great job in sharing her experience of meeting up with the Dalai Lama.
She described him the way I imagined that he would be; "not someone you would mess with". I like!
I also imagined that he exudes peacefulness and intelligence.

In this world, there are some people that I can't help but respect and admire (I'm sure it's not just me).
The very portrait of those people, generates kind loving thoughts and encouragement for me to be a better person.
Dalai Lama is one very obvious example.
The sight of his image on the paper, or the mention of his title, provided me with the much needed nudge on "Karma".

"What goes around, comes around..."

It makes me think - I will not get to see him, but other Melbournians or Sydneysiders or Hobart villagers who will be in town during early December can!
That's when I decided to blog about it. :)

If you're interested, check out the schedule at Dalai Lama in Australia website.
If you're not, THINK AGAIN!!! :)
For those who are already going... CONGRATULATIONS! I imagined it would be a very very very big moment in one's life.

I truly hope I'll get the chance again.

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."
-- Dalai Lama

PS: Just remembered, a while ago - a good friend of mine from work lend me the DVD of Kundun, which is "based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet." (from Wikipedia). It was a really good watch, highly recommended! :)