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The Dalai Lama in Central Park in 1999

February 26th, 2017 · 8 Comments · New York City, Poetry, Weird Things About Me

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Dalai-Rama!

or

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

is the Twinkle in Your Own Eye!

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In the days leading up to This Great Spirit Gathering in Central Park,
The news reports were predicting 20,000 people or something.
I was thinking, “This is going to be a LOT bigger than that!”

I entered The Park up by the big Reservoir,
and on the Perimeter Drive that circles around inside the Park there’s this
……….ten-person-wide parade
………………..of vegetarian yoga-sitting Buddhist whippets
…………………………all power-walking to Dalai-Land.

But when we get there,
the entire section of the Park that contains the Dalai’s East Meadow
………. is already full of people,
……………….. shut down, barricaded off by fences,
………………………… and an unfaltering uniformed line
…………………………of New York’s Worst.

Gushing around the East Meadow
………. is a sudden Flash Flood of people
………. overflowing the banks of the melting-pot amphitheater lake-size bowl.

The half of the roadway closest to the barricades has become this
………. Standing-Room-Only balcony
……………….. 30-people-deep
……………….. straining to see just a sliver of an angle of anything
……………….. that even resembled a stage,
………………………… or a tent,
…………………………………. or the top of a speaker tower.

So it was either, “Tip-toe through the Taoists” for hours,
………. or “keep movin’ on.”

That, and the slobbering bridles of the Four Horses of the Millennium Bucking into the back of your head as the Giuliani Spiritual Police
……….. hollered at us
……………….. “Keep it moving.”

It’s okay for a half-a-million Fat Frat Southern Cowboys
………. to come to the Park for Garth “Pepsi” Brooks
But get a few thousand Buddhists together and it’s
Noooooo . . .
………. We gotta impose a little order here.
……………….. We don’t want any of you
………………………… God-damn
…………………………………. Buddhists
………………………………………….. freely assembling
…………………………………………………… in a park!”

Then as I look over at the amphitheater bowl,
………. At all those placid and pacific people in the Sea of Dalai,
There’s this big bulking crowd that was STILL –
………. already posed in tomorrow’s newspaper –

But you could see, if you looked long enough,
………. a gentle, subtle, tiny, barely-traceable
……………….. trickle of people
………………………… rippling in from the left.

So I let myself go with the current along the river Drive
………. like a poppedcycle stick
……………….. whippin’ past tree-lined banks,
Naturally flowing around the site
………. down the hill
And sure enough there’s this bridge
………. over the river K-why not?
……………….. bridging the field and the food stands.

There’s a half-dozen half-dozin’ cops caught coppin’ a yak
………. and they . . . seem to be . . . letting people pass!

Yass!

As I floated through the phalanx flashing my

Laminated All-Access Prankster’s Twinkle

There he was!
………. the little orange and red-cloaked bald & giggling man!

And then OHHH! My God! There’s the big bald & giggling man
………. on the Giant Screen!

Holy Drive-in Gurus, Batman!
………. It’s “I Love Lamy!” on the Jumbotron!

But there he is for real! The Dalai Rama!

Sitting in a big Captain Kirk chair in the middle of the stage,
………. one camera shooting-straight at him from the waist up
……………….. “just like Elvis”

A brilliant yellow bed of shimmering van Gogh sunflowers
………. wrapped all around him like he was already in heaven,
Except he was still here!
………. Bouncingly buoyant in his perch
…………like a little seven-year-old child in a fat first-class seat
…………………on his first airplane ride.

And man, . . . It was in-fect-ious!

There’s this powerful charge when a master of the spirit
………. plays to a packed house outdoors.

Everyone is unified simply by making the Journey.

I did Mass with the Pope in Central Park,
A freedom rally with Nelson Mandella in Amsterdam,
And danced to Dylan at Woodstock,
And there’s this tangible energy transformation that takes place when
……….10,000 people, maybe more
……………….. get together in one place.

First of all,
it burns India
………. in a way you can never forget.

Spend a day with a global guru in a temple like Central Park
with all the summer volunteers and extra-credit-motivated students
buzzing with the same energy-charge you’re channeling
with it flowing right out of the ground
and the whole field lights up like a flame scorching the soul for fun and forever.

And everyone, without saying a word, is reverentially quiet.

A cell-phone rings but is turned off without looking.

No one sparks a butt — in a tension-free crowd of thousands.

Nothing is heard save the stray whispering of an “Excuse me,”
………. as someone balletically tip-toes through the blankets and jack straw legs
………. in a slow-motion Twister dance on shoe-sized grass squares
……………….. making their way back to their loved-ones ahead.

And with a crowd like this,

What one of these Spirit Giants can do!

By first drawing us in,

then drawing us out,

Bringing us out of ourselves
………. to dance beneath the diamond sky
……………….. with a half-a-million strong.

Aretha did it in Washington at Clinton’s Inaugural,
………. raising a million Bubba’s off their picnic-blanket-butts
……………….. to shake it under in the national sun,
And here we were with the Salvation Dalai warming up New York City!

So he welcomed everyone as soon as he began,

He said it didn’t matter what religion we came here as:

we were all striving for the same things.

He called it “secular ethics.”

Yeah!

“Secular ethics”

Why didn’t I think of that?

And the whole time he was being really funny
………. and open
………. and laughing
………. and making fun of his broken English,

so he introduced his translator who stood by him the whole time and whenever he would hesitate on a word the translator would lean over with whatever was stuck on his tongue.

I wish I could have a “translator” travel with me all the time!

Talk about close couples finishing each other’s sentences,
………. here’s this guy
……………….. who can do it on the fly,
………………………… finishing the Dalai Lama’s thoughts
…………………………………. on stage,
………………………………………….. on demand.

And then the Dalai would go, “Yes-yes-yes,”
………. and then try to say the word in English . . .
……………….. ” . . . life – styyyle – yesssss.”

And all afternoon he had this simple innocent brilliance about him.

He was making these huge points about
………. your mental attitude being within your control
and how all of us have the power to change that in ourselves,
and he’d be going,
………. “I know, it is verrrry-difficult.
………. Verrrrrry, very difficult.

You try to sleep and there are . . .”
and he waves his hand around in the air looking for a word.

And the translator doesn’t know and tries whispering a few words to him,
then all of a sudden —
………. “ALARMS!!! There are Alarrrrrms, yeeeeesss.
………. They start to go off — and you cannot sleep!
………..And there are Engines of Fire that race past your window,
………………………… and it is very-very bad. Yes . . .
………. Life is very-difficult.
………. But we must keep Positive Mental Attitude.”

He almost had this Lenny Bruce-thing going on,
………. Using humor to convey the larger spiritual points,
………. Performing “shows” to articulate the truths
………. With humor as the medium to keep us alert and attentive
………. As he simultaneously tuned us clearly into the Channel.

And then he goes on and tells how he was taken from his parents when he was young, and then lost his whole country when he was 15,
and my own problems sure seemed a lot smaller after that!

Here was this guy laughing away in his Captain Kirk chair,
………. telling us that he was no different than any of us,
………..and that if he can change his mind and stay positive —
……………….. and not only that
……………….. but also pick people up and carry them with him —
………………………… it sure made me want to pick up my own game.

And as with any great artist,
………. the audience doesn’t just sit by passively and soak in his mastery —
………. but instead we become engaged,
………. making us all think,
and see the world in ways we never would have thought of –

And I suddenly imagined myself standing at a concert,
………. But I was in an upper tier,
………. and my seat was right behind a pillar so I couldn’t see the stage.

Then I realized all I had to do is take one step to the side,
………. and suddenly I could see everything.

You just take one tiny step and your entire perspective changes,

And then he says –

Be a garden of love that others can grow in and out of.”

The best thing you can do is allow someone else to spring from your heart.”

And he suggested:

………. “Be self-confident without conceit.”

………. “Have self-reliance without pride.”

And after this whole two-hour odyssey where he pulled the camera way up
………. into the outer spaces of consciousness
……………….. giving us all a guided tour of the psychic universe
………………………… and now suddenly he was saying, “Goodbye!”

And you’re realizing it’s over and scrambling,
………. “Geez, did I get it? What the heck was the point again?”

And right at that point, after all the different lessons he’d taught us,
………. he says,

………………..But the most important thing

………………………… is to be a nice, warm-hearted person.”

There he was, so kindly,

………. without asking,

……………….. gently telling us what we needed to hear.

But the most important thing

………. is to be a nice, warm-hearted person.”

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Here’s another heart-warmer poem — Spring Peace Piece

Or here’s one called Be The Invincible Spirit You Are

Or here’s another Rama Rising — where Barack is The Rock

Or here’s the essence of it all — Love Is

Or here’s a fun storytelling Adventure poem featuring Vincent Van Gogh — Visiting Vincent

Or .

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by Brian Hassett  —  karmacoupon@gmail.com   —  BrianHassett.com

Or here’s my Facebook account if you wanna follow things there —

https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Hassett.Canada

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8 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Ron Whitehead // Feb 26, 2017 at 9:51 AM

    Amen! Thanks Brian!

  • 2 Shelly Musgrove // Feb 26, 2017 at 11:09 AM

    I saw him over the course of a weekend. Seminar. The energy was palpable. Just standing near him was a feeling of bliss I can’t articulate. Such a joyful spirit. The laughter…..

  • 3 Mary Jo Hicks-Sullivan // Feb 26, 2017 at 5:26 PM

    I honestly love this man and his wisdom. To see him laugh and hug others is a spiritual experience for me. He and Thich Nhat Han are true spiritual leaders, in my opinion.

  • 4 Brian // Feb 26, 2017 at 6:02 PM

    With ya. He’s done SO much good for our species and planet.

  • 5 Mary Jo Hicks-Sullivan // Feb 26, 2017 at 6:55 PM

    It is too bad that so many people can’t open their closed religious minds and hearts to those that offer pure love and compassion.

  • 6 Billy Savitsky // Feb 26, 2017 at 10:31 PM

    Thank you, Brian. A real treat for the mind and soul.

  • 7 Frida Rode // Feb 27, 2017 at 10:20 AM

    “Tip-toe through the Taoist’s” in a warm, kind warm-hearted way. 🙂

  • 8 Dale "Gubba" Topham // Jul 6, 2020 at 2:34 PM

    Good old Brian Hassett, finding the flow to go with! A little cross-current to catch the eddy, then ride, captain ride! Love Giuliani’s horsemen of the millennium and the Engines of fire going by the window.

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