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The Dalai Lama

Stanford University President John Hennessy is accustomed to meeting foreign dignitaries and world icons, all while projecting a calm and collected presence.

But when the Dalai Lama calls, you come running.

This morning, after introducing the spiritual leader of Tibet at Stanford's Maples Pavilion and quickly exiting, Hennessy rushed back to the stage at the Dalai Lama's behest where he was presented with a blessed white scarf. Stanford's president was not the only one captivated.

Speaking at a venue normally reserved for basketball games, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and Buddhist monk, charmed a capacity crowd of 6,300 as he discussed the necessity for compassion in world society. But for the 14th Dalai Lama, the lecture was no different in message from the numerous other talks he has given during his 60-year reign.

"I think, more or less, hundreds of my talks are all the same subject," he said with a grin after being reminded of the lecture's title, "The Centrality of Compassion in Human Life and Society."

Still, for those who did not see the Dalai Lama speak at his previous two visits to the Farm in 1994 and 2005, his message had strong resonance as he discussed the place of secular views in society and addressed the large portion of the modern world that did not embrace religion. Central to his talk was the belief that an individual's morality did not have to originate from a religious base.

"Some people have a view that any moral ethics must be based on religious faith, but if you believe that, then [your understanding of the world] becomes very narrow," the Dalai Lama said.

"I usually try to promote the human value of compassion to [secularism] that is not against any religion," he continued, stressing the importance of respect for other belief systems.

Moving on from the idea of secularism, the Dalai Lama transitioned into a discussion of the role of science in understanding human emotions like compassion. He is visiting, in part, because of his interest in scientific research and is closely monitoring the work of Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), a program that uses psychology and neuroscience to understand the basis of empathy, compassion and altruism.

The Dalai Lama helped develop CCARE, donating $150,000 from his book sales in 2008, to fund the institute's establishment. CCARE Director James Doty joined him on stage, later presenting the Dalai Lama with a few handpicked questions after his talk.

"Now, because of neuroscience, there is more attention to the mind and the relationship between the mind and the brain," said the Dalai Lama, before stressing the importance of medial knowledge in understanding emotional states. This information is crucial in understanding the motives behind depression and suicide, he stated.

"More and more people realize that real peace must come through inner peace," said the Dalai Lama. "How do you develop a calm mind and inner peace? Tranquilizers? No. Drugs? No. Alcohol? No. Inner peace must develop through mental ways, through mental process."

Yet, the Dalai Lama was not all proverbial wisdom Thursday morning. He created a jovial mood, laughing at his own jokes and telling light-hearted stories from his childhood, some of which were key in illustrating his points on parenting.

"My parents were... just farmers, but very, very compassionate, particularly my mother; my father sometimes lost his temper," he said to laughs. "We almost never saw on [my mother] a negative face."

Although the crowd at times strained to understand the Dalai Lama through his heavy accent, his message to the 2,000 Stanford students in the audience was clear: Employ dialogue over violence to solve problems.

"Using force, you cannot solve problems," he reflected, citing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example. "You can control or eliminate the body, but not mind. You can change your mind only through compassion or education."

Staring through tinted spectacles at the rows of students in front of him, he appealed directly to youth and gesticulated to his heart.

"You are the people who belong to this century," he concluded. "My people are of the 20th century and are now ready to say good-bye. So these young people, you should think how to bring a more peaceful century, a more compassionate century."