If Bishop Eric Matsumoto, head of the largest Buddhist sect in Hawaii, were to have a private moment with the Dalai Lama, he would ask what he and others could do as individuals to make world peace a reality.

Matsumoto, who leads the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, and many other followers of Buddhism are among the thousands expected to attend two Hawaii Community Foundation Pillars of Peace events this weekend at the Stan Sheriff Center. Foundation organizers said they had no trouble filling the 9,000-seat arena both days with ticket holders eager to see Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, a global icon of spiritual enlightenment.

World peace has been a central theme of teachings the past several years at the Hongwanji and its affiliate, the Pacific Buddhist Academy, which provides college preparatory courses for some 65 students. Matsumoto will see the Dalai Lama for his first time today by special invitation to the students-only event, along with most of the PBA students and faculty.

“The Dalai Lama has a wonderful way of sharing the message that we can make a difference in people’s lives in hopes that all our lives will be much more meaningful,” said Matsumoto. “But world peace is such a huge topic that it eludes many people. I would ask him what are the concrete ways an average person can nurture world peace.”

Corrine Chun Fujimoto, president of the Kagyu Thegchen Ling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center in Nuuanu, said she and a majority of its 100 members will attend the Dalai Lama’s public talk Sunday.

“You don’t have to be a Tibetan Buddhist to be inspired. Just his presence is special and very meaningful. He has such a wonderful gift of connecting heart to heart with people. How peace and the Hawaiian idea of aloha come together has a great deal of resonance for the people of Hawaii,” she said.

The Dalai Lama is the first of a series of leaders invited to Hawaii to exchange ideas about world peace for the Pillars of Peace event. The Dalai Lama, according to his official website, www.dalailama.com, is the divine embodiment or the “Bodhisattva of Compassion.”

Matsumoto said he hopes the Dalai Lama’s appearance will act as a catalyst to Hawaii, which can play a significant role in reaching out to the rest of the world with its aloha spirit to bring the people of the world closer together.

Matsumoto said although there are many schools of Buddhist thought, “compassion is at the very, very core of all Buddhism teachings, a way to achieve peace and happiness and alleviate suffering for all existence.”

Matsumoto said that in most Buddhist traditions, it takes a personal effort to find a path to enlightenment, similar to an individual trudging up a rugged path by foot to the top of the summit, which symbolizes enlightenment, nonsuffering and peace for all. But his Jodo Shinshu sect’s Pure Land Tradition “relies 100 percent on the unconditional compassion of Amida Buddha,” likening it to using a ski lift or escalator to climb the mountain instead.

A follower usually finds it difficult to rid himself of the anger, greed and selfishness that characterize all humans, “but if you know Amida Buddha, you are not to worry. He will accept you as you are and promises to lead you to enlightenment. When we become aware of that, we respond to his great compassion by trying to live the best life we can,” Matsumoto said.

Fujimoto said Lama Karma Rinchen, the Kagyu meditation center’s principal resident lama since 1976, will also attend the Sunday talk. Like the Dalai Lama, Rinchen fled Tibet in 1959 to escape oppression by communist Chinese and spent years of exile in India, according to the center’s website, www.ktlhonolulu.org.

In a written statement, Rinchen said: “Wherever His Holiness the Dalai Lama may be, he conveys genuine loving-kindness and compassion. We see his form as a human being, but his mind is the embodiment of omniscient wisdom.

“We are so fortunate to have His Holiness return to Hawaii for a fourth visit. His mere presence brings great blessings to all — generating peace of mind and the pacification of all disharmony.”

Fujimoto said the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism is principally concerned with meditation, because that’s how Siddhartha Gautama achieved the enlightenment that transformed him into Buddha. The Dalai Lama, who is of the Gelugpa lineage, has always had a deep interest in science, especially the mind and how to bring about wisdom and compassion, she said.

The Dalai Lama has been collaborating with the Mind and Life Institute in “using Western scientific methods with age-old methods (Buddhism) of figuring out the mind,” she said, referring to www.mindandlife.org/about/hhdl-mli. Scientists are actually hooking monks up with electrodes to measure the benefits of meditation on the mind and body, she said.

In a 2003 article on “A Collaboration Between Science and Religion,” the Dalai Lama wrote that an increased scientific understanding of the mind, consciousness and emotions would benefit the world, for “if humanity is to survive, happiness and inner peace are crucial.”

Tino Ramirez of Waianae, a member of the Tibetan center who will be hearing the Dalai Lama talk Sunday, said, “I expect to come away inspired to keep meditating, to become a better person.” He first saw the leader in 1994 on Oahu. After practicing for 30 years, Ramirez said, he has found “meditation brings some peace into my day. It helps me when I get caught up in a situation. I have a little more space, so I don’t just react. That’s what we learn from meditation, not to engage with your thoughts and emotions.”