My coworker and I had grand visions of a culturally rich program and "resource fair" for the Dalai Lama event at Qwest Field. On the Seeds of Compassion website only vague descriptions were provided..."Resource fair from 11:30-", "Speakers starting at 1:" and so on. We expected hippies everywhere, as this was an event on "compassion" and perhaps a few protesters, or at least people out to make their stance heard. What better way to invoke change for Tibet than with a Dalai Lama event?
What we were presented with instead was a "resource fair" of "Enroll your kid in our EXCELLENT academy TODAY!", "We provide you with tips on how to be a BETTER parent!" and so on and so on. Nothing about Tibet, nothing culturally rich; in fact, it was more like a watered down, Americanized Dalai-lite event safe for the suburban moms--who were precisely the main ones in attendance. Nary was there a hippie to be seen! It was crazy the lack of counterculture in the crowd. They were even serving food from the concession stands. What was this, a football game?!
The speeches, presented by guest speakers like Christine Gregoire, were totally just ass-kissing to the Dalai Lama, or perhaps contests to see who could use the word "compassion" the most in their allotted time. Nothing substantial or eye-opening was really presented by these speakers, save for perhaps the guy who wanted to put the event on to alert us all to the plight of foster children.
Thus, we left. I have no idea what the Dalai Lama said, unfortunately, although it is available online. The whole vibe of the event was just not jiving for either my coworker or I. We went in expecting to be educated by one of the greatest teachers in history, but left feeling robbed by the politicians and bigwigs interested in putting such an event on their resumes.
Reviews
elle said on April 14, 2008:
My coworker and I had grand visions of a culturally rich program and "resource fair" for the Dalai Lama event at Qwest Field. On the Seeds of Compassion website only vague descriptions were provided..."Resource fair from 11:30-", "Speakers starting at 1:" and so on. We expected hippies everywhere, as this was an event on "compassion" and perhaps a few protesters, or at least people out to make their stance heard. What better way to invoke change for Tibet than with a Dalai Lama event?
What we were presented with instead was a "resource fair" of "Enroll your kid in our EXCELLENT academy TODAY!", "We provide you with tips on how to be a BETTER parent!" and so on and so on. Nothing about Tibet, nothing culturally rich; in fact, it was more like a watered down, Americanized Dalai-lite event safe for the suburban moms--who were precisely the main ones in attendance. Nary was there a hippie to be seen! It was crazy the lack of counterculture in the crowd. They were even serving food from the concession stands. What was this, a football game?!
The speeches, presented by guest speakers like Christine Gregoire, were totally just ass-kissing to the Dalai Lama, or perhaps contests to see who could use the word "compassion" the most in their allotted time. Nothing substantial or eye-opening was really presented by these speakers, save for perhaps the guy who wanted to put the event on to alert us all to the plight of foster children.
Thus, we left. I have no idea what the Dalai Lama said, unfortunately, although it is available online. The whole vibe of the event was just not jiving for either my coworker or I. We went in expecting to be educated by one of the greatest teachers in history, but left feeling robbed by the politicians and bigwigs interested in putting such an event on their resumes.