Dalai Lama discusses education in Colgate podcast

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During his recent visit to campus the Dalai Lama met with Colgate President Rebecca Chopp and Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson for a special episode of Colgate Conversations, the university’s podcast series that highlights members of the campus community.

In the audio interview, the Dalai Lama talks about education and its role in achieving happiness.

He speaks about “warm-heartedness” and other characteristics that can help students at Colgate and elsewhere become compassionate global leaders.

The discussion, which also was videotaped, delves more deeply into some of the topics His Holiness raised during his public appearance at Colgate on April 22, when he spoke to nearly 5,000 people.

“Education is important for infinite, unbiased compassion,” he says.

The Dalai Lama emphasizes the need to see situations from many different perspectives. He speaks on a personal level about how he “lost” his homeland of Tibet nearly 50 years ago and how hard it is for him to hear bad news coming from his country.

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The Dalai Lama talks with Colgate President Rebecca Chopp (center) and Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson.

But even from that departure under extremely difficult circumstances, he says, now comes opportunities while in exile for him to meet different peoples and to better understand different values and religious traditions.

“Every event, if you look at it from a different aspect and from a different angle, you might see some positive things,” says the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The Dalai Lama shows his sense of humor several times during the podcast, as he did during the luncheons and panel discussions he held with students and faculty members during his two-day campus visit.

To listen to the podcast, please click to listen now or right-click and “save target as” to download the .mp3 file. You also can go to the Colgate Conversations page or iTunes page for more download options, and you can view the entire interview here.