Dalai Lama begins 6-day visit today

The Dalai Lama begins his six-day Bloomington visit today with an interfaith service held at 11 a.m. at St. Paul’s Catholic Center, located at 1413 E. 17th St.\nThe service is a private event and only invited guests will be allowed, due to security purposes. But those not in attendance can watch the service broadcast on WTIU, according to Inside Indiana’s Web site.\nAfter the morning service, the Dalai Lama will be present at a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating a new arch at the Tibetan Cultural Center, at 3655 S. Snoddy Road. \nThe Dalai Lama will hold a series of three classes later in the week. His teachings for the classes are from Atisha’s “The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment,” and will be held from Wednesday through Friday at the IU Auditorium.\nHis visit culminates with a public talk titled “Compassion: the Source of Peace,” held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Assembly Hall. \nThe Dalai Lama is in town after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday. \nPresident Bush presented the award to the Dalai Lama at the Capitol building, being the first president in U.S. history to meet the Dalai Lama in public, according to the Web site for the U.S. Department of State.\n“Honoring His Holiness with the Congressional Gold Medal is a strong endorsement of His Holiness’ tireless commitment to enhancing the principles of non-violence, religious harmony tolerance and promoting a sense of universal responsibility,” Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, special envoy of the Dalai Lama, said in a press release.\nTickets are still available for both the morning and afternoon sessions of Wednesday and Thursday’s classes and the morning class on Friday. To buy tickets, call the Auditorium at 855-1103 or visit the Web site at www.iuauditorium.com/0708/other_events.html.