The Dalai Lama offered his self-deprecating humor and infectious laughter to 9,000 people at the Stan Sheriff Center on Sunday and revealed that, in fact, he does not smile all the time.
At the end of his talk in which he said inner peace, humility and the ability to look at conflict from different perspectives can spread peace to an increasingly crowded planet, the Dalai Lama responded to a question about whether he indeed smiles incessantly.
"When I am in bathroom, I’m still smiling," the Dalai said to laughter — both his own and the audience’s.
He paused for effect.
"Sometimes it’s difficult to come out," he continued. "You need some kind of little pressure. No time smiling."
LisaAnn Mahoney of Hawaii Kai, who brought her three children to see the Dalai Lama for the first time, remarked, "It really doesn’t get more truthful than that. His truthfulness is a big part of his popularity."
The Dalai Lama’s commodious humor came at the end of a presentation that had no script because, he said, "One factor, I think, I’m a lazy person."
It’s that combination of humor and humility that does not translate exactly through the Dalai Lama’s writings, said Alvin Kuo Wong of Manoa, who saw the Dalai Lama in person for the first time Sunday.
"Oh my God, he had us in the palm of his hand," Wong said. "He’s so down to earth. In his writings he’s the guru giving you all these tips on how to live life. You don’t see the interpersonal relationships. You don’t see how he reacts to his audience."
A year ago The set out to find the demographic ideal of the Happiest Man in America and found him in Wong. On Sunday the Happiest Man in America found himself 10 rows back from the Dalai Lama at the Stan Sheriff Center, soaking up every message with his daughter, Shaaroni, who teaches seventh grade at Punahou School and was busy scribbling notes.
"He said, ‘Don’t take yourself seriously and laugh at yourself,’" Alvin Wong said. "If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you have a problem."
The Dalai Lama was given different questions at the Stan Sheriff Center about how people should react to negative pressures.
In one response he said that the ability to look at the same situation from different angles — up close, from a distance and from another person’s point of view — can provide a completely different perspective that can bring inner peace while countering negative forces.
Mahoney, a Catholic, brought her daughter, 20, and twin boys, 13, to expose them to Buddhist teachings.
"The Dalai Lama preaches about forgiveness and peace," she said. "I really try to embrace that lifestyle."
On their way home from the Stan Sheriff Center, one of the boys told Mahoney that the Dalai Lama’s presentation "opened up his heart," she said by phone later. "It spoke to him about the love and compassion that this man has."
But it was the delivery of the Dalai Lama’s messages that particularly resonated with the Mahoney children.
"He has such a childlike spirit," Mahoney said. "That’s what resonates with the children. They could see the humor and almost mischievousness in the way he speaks."
His appearance to a packed Stan Sheriff Center followed a private, panel discussion at the East-West Center titled "The Importance of Native Intelligence in Modern Times" which included Pualani Kanahele, an expert in Hawaiian cultural practices, and master navigator Nainoa Thompson.
At both appearances the Dalai Lama pulled on a maroon, neoprene visor for the indoor events — apparently to shade his eyes from the lights. And he continued to share his message that we are "brothers and sisters."
At the East-West Center the Dalai Lama listened intently — sometimes through a translator — to stories that Thompson and Kanahele told about how their upbringings sometimes clashed with Western influences.
After receiving a gift of a koa paddle from Thompson, the Dalai Lama said, "This is the paddle of ultimate wisdom." He said he would use it to cleanse the ocean of suffering. Then the Tibetan native joked, "Our land — no sea, no ocean. So no use this."
After the East-West Center panel discussion, Thompson told reporters, "I feel a man who has been through an enormous amount of suffering. He is a man who has an enormous amount of pressure on his shoulders."
The larger question, Thompson said, is, "What do we do on Tuesday when he’s gone? What do we do on a day-to-day basis? Are we going to be better parents? Are we going to be better community members? …
"Because of that reminder, I thank him. I’m grateful for his presence on behalf of all of us."
The Dalai Lama’s visit generated a little more than $1 million in ticket sales and other revenue, but no profit, according to the Hawaii Community Foundation, which helped organize his appearances.
