2 men make 100-mile trip to meet Dalai Lama

The original plan was to walk 60 miles from Hope, Ind., to Buddha, Ind., but upon realization that the Dalai Lama was in Bloomington and 40 miles from their destination, the two men knew they needed to extend their pilgrimage to see the spiritual leader. \nWashington, D.C., natives Rob Foster and Chris Deutsch had a simple objective: to walk 100 miles in seven days and seven nights for seven minutes with the Dalai Lama. \n“We both really wanted to meet the Dalai Lama,” Deutsch said. “We found the town of Hope, and we were a couple of guys who were going to walk the path with hope.” \nThe Web site they started, ILiveInspired.com, sponsored their walk. The site’s goal is to deliver daily text messages equipped with inspirational quotes from best-selling authors and experts. \nThe interest in the Dalai Lama and Buddhism began after Foster’s recovery from drugs, alcohol and gambling, Deutsch said. More than a year later, the two began to prepare to travel in hopes of meeting their role model. \n“We wanted to get his permission to spread his word through our text messaging service,” he said. \nArmed only with signs saying “Dalai Lama or Bust” and “From Hope to His Holiness,” and a few days’ worth of supplies, Foster and Deutsch began their journey Oct. 17, the same day the Dalai Lama received his Congressional Gold Medal from President Bush. \n“On our last day, we decided to finish the last eight miles in the dark, and it just started to pour down rain,” Deutsch said. “When we arrived at the Tibetan (Mongolian Buddhist) Cultural Center, they were preparing for His Holiness’ visit but were very welcoming of us and invited us in from the rain.” \nFoster and Deutsch were invited to the luncheon Wednesday, where their dream to meet the Tibetan leader finally came true. \n“When we got to meet him, there were so many people around us, but he looked right at us and motioned us over,” Deutsch said. “We told him that we wanted to spread his word and he embraced us and called us ‘messengers.’” \nThe Buddhist spiritual leader chuckled at the men’s choice of Buddha, Ind., as a pit stop, he said, and took photos with them as proof of their dream come true. \n“(The meeting with him) was unbelievable,” Deutsch said. “That’s the only way to describe it.”