Dalai Lama to speak at two events at USC
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will visit USC on May 3 for two events hosted by the USC Student Interfaith Council.
“We are very excited that the Dalai Lama has accepted the USC Student Interfaith Council’s invitation to speak on campus. We see this as an extraordinary and unique opportunity and are very excited for this to take place,” said Varun Soni, dean of religious life at USC.
The first event will take place in the morning at the Galen Center where the Dalai Lama will give a public talk on such topics as secular ethics, religious pluralism and the relationship between spirituality and science. A question-and-answer session moderated by Dr. James Doty, a board member of the Dalai Lama Foundation, will follow the lecture.
The Dalai Lama will participate in a panel of scholars including Antonio Damasio, USC professor of neuroscience, and Gideon Yaffe, USC professor of philosophy and law, in another event on May 3 in the afternoon at Bovard Auditorium to talk about consciousness, cognition and contemplation.
Tickets will go on sale online Saturday, March 12 and over the phone Monday, March 14. Students will be able to receive a discounted price of $20 each for up to four tickets at either event.
USC faculty and staff are eligible to buy up to two tickets for a discounted rate of $50 each for the event taking place in Bovard Auditorium. Proceeds from both events will be donated to the Dalai Lama Foundation. Students should also expect to receive an e-mail from the USC Ticket Office with additional information about pricing and availability.
I have just read through the comments on this page. I am not a USC student or faculty, but my taxes go toward education just like everyone else. If this is a cross-section of the students (and future possible leaders) of this country then God help us all. Education is supposed to broaden the mind and that cannot happen unless you grab every opportunity that presents itself.
1.2 million Tibetans have lost their lives since the Chinese invasion in the 1950s and a unique culture has been almost decimated. The Tibetan people recognise the Dalai Lama as their spiritual and secular leader. The Dalai Lama himself has said that this is an outdated approach and is beginning the process of stepping aside so that the Tibetans can vote for a secular leader as in other countries.
This is one of the greatest spiritual persons of our time, you would do well to listen and to learn; at least then you can say that you have an informed opinion instead of an ignorant one brainwashed by the media.
It is a woeful shame that there are some adverse negative remarks about the DL; but that is ok because everyone is entitled to their own opinions without the fear of being persecuted.
I believe what Buddhism preaches is to be compassionate to all living things, whether human, animal, plant, etc. To show show compassion is to hopefully better this world that we live in. We are all pieces of this world and if it looks like we are falling apart in some areas then we should take it upon ourselves to try to piece together what has fallen apart.
Compassion starts with ones-self and from within. Once you find that compassion you can then go out and help others and you hope that they in turn will find compassion within themselves and to help other as you had helped them.
There will always be differences and that’s what makes this world interesting and dynamic; however, the commonality that we should all strive for is to be compassionate to each other.
From my understanding, the Dalai Lama is coming to speack about Buddhist teaching and the relationship between these teachings and science. The fusion between Buddhism and science has been discussed and promoted by various Buddhist master. It is a very interesting perspective to use science to explain Buddhist teachings. It will be a great learning experience. It is funny how some people are so bigoted. Thought that USC was attracting better students these days.
He used to a slave owner and now is a miserable man who lost political power, just like Mubarak who cannot face the history and his people. Now all he want is the pursuit of power covered by some ridiculous religion meanings. Shame on him.
I am so disappointed about this event.
Why are they bringing former salve owners to USC?? Read Michael parentis research on the the dalia Lama… Criminals..
I have to say i’m so disappointed in the perspective of some Chinese-Americans at USC that really believe in the rhetoric of the PRC. Wake up!! I love China and i’ve been there many times, but they have wielded such oppressive control of their people…the Dalai Lama has never attacked or invaded anyone. He is an activist, a Buddhist, and a proponent for peace, if you ever read anything by him you’d know he supports a peaceful union of Tibet and China. Understanding this will be a challenge for many, many people. What are you so afraid of? Is it YOU thinking for yourself or just all of the PRC propaganda you’ve heard your whole life?
Do you know what happened in 03/ 14 / 2008 in Tibet?! Do you know what happened in England during the Olympic torch relay ,.If you don’t know, search that first , then tell us what does DaLai’s peace mean~
Have you ever been to Tibet, China? No. All the things you know is just from the CNN, BBC and other western news, sad for you.
The dalia lama is a CIA asset to undermine Chima.. He is a former slave owner.. You really know nothing when you make such insane statements.
He’s totally a traitor and slaveholder, Do Americans supoort traitor and slaveholder?
Yes, we do!
@Williams i’m baffled by your statement, were you planning on supporting that with anything or do you just like throwing our non-sequitur shock statements? You have no idea what you are saying and it’s a pity because you have the opportunity in your lifetime to see a pivotal leader of peace and unity and here you are making some comment about him being a slaveholder. What bizarre, parallel universe do you live in? What if I just called your parents traitors and Nazis? Does that make it true, can I support that? No I can’t, moreover i’m sure it’s ludicrous and untrue…check your head and your heart.
Strongly object!!!
Why?
I’m just going to go ahead and state the obvious– the last 12 comments have all been posted by the same person. And they have horrible grammar. Clever.
Unfortunately for you, smart-alec! By the way, could you please show me your perfect grammar in Chinese when expressing your idea?
Sure. Also, you completely missed the point of my post.
Your point is ridiculous, because your judgement is really problematic.
object such politically biased event on campus!!!
Life is political, education is political, get used to it. You attend a PRIVATE University, which is a blessing because more perspectives can be shared. Don’t hide and insulate yourself from the first thing that threatens your world view. You’re in for a lot of heartache if that’s how you do.
Damn you, MarsMc!!! Dalai is a big idiot!! What he can do is to bring insult to the Chinese!!!!!!
You sound so Chinese when you say that.
LOL
所有有良心的中国人，都应该站出来反对或抗议这两所美国大学！！！！
Damn you, Dalai Lama! Damn all his followers!! If you go hungry, will you still do all these stupid things? You’re all big troublemakers and betrayers of the Chinese People!
okay this is seriously retarded…
that’s like saying Geronimo was a betrayer of the American people
totally ridiculous
Chinese nationalistic propaganda makes me sick!
I have nothing against Chinese people, but I firmly stand with the Tibetan people on this issue and welcome His Holiness to the campus!
You’re threatening dissenters with starvation? Really?
同学们 咆哮吧！！！！！！！尼玛的一张门票还20刀！！！！！20刀还只是折扣价有没有！！！！！！！！！尼玛的奥巴马来演讲的时候都免费的！！！！！尼玛的钱不要太多啊！！！！！！居然还要捐给达赖喇嘛做基金！！！！捐你妹啊捐！！！！！！！！！！！
Object!
Can’t believe there is Chinese in such stupid council!
Totally Object!!
It is really a shame to invite him to speech at USC.
This man will not be welcome by all the Chinese students in USC!
哥特么到了美帝还是逃不了被代表的命运啊我去，这尼玛哥要咆哮啊啊啊啊啊！！！！！有没有！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
I thought all chinese students share the pain of being “represented”.
Anyway, I will go to listen to him,
not because I think he is right, but I believe it is necessary to listen to someone before judging him.
Because all Chinese think the same?! Are you crazy?! I understand that China is a socially collectivist culture but you DO NOT speak for all Chinese.
I hope we’re not paying him an honorarium or his expenses.
object !!!!
I am a USC Professor and I object such politically biased event on campus.
You object to having students hear someone speak? Don’t you think USC’s students are intelligent enough to decide for themselves the merits of the speaker’s words? If not, you really shouldn’t be teaching!
He just objected such events, not objected students attending such events. You really have a good imagination!
But if the events don’t occur, then logically students don’t get the chance to attend them. The university atmosphere is a great opportunity for students to be exposed to unfamiliar ideas, even if they don’t agree with them.
Then your an idiot and you belong elsewhere. I wouldn’t want you as a professor. If I knew Dr.King might be a guest speaker and some teacher objected i’d run them out on a rail, you don’t belong in academia if you REALLY are a professor, which I highly doubt.
USC professor is NOT a USC professor. No self-respecting, tenured or part-time Prof would post some contrite little blurb on a student forum. If they did, well, may God help us all.
Are you kidding me ? I can not believe USC invite a person who seems to be a religious leader but actually a politician.
Are you retarded?
Umm… didn’t Obama just come and speak? Why shouldn’t USC invite politicians, religious leaders, scientists, musicians and anyone culturally relevant to speak to students? Jack Kemp spoke at my USC commencement ceremony, I don’t remember anyone objecting.
Are you serious? Obama is totally different from Dalai Lama! It is so unbelievable you thought they are comparable! When Obama came for public speech, there were many people objecting around the campus. For your commencement ceremony, there must also be some people objecting, though you didn’t remember. Why should USC invite any politicians, religious leaders, scientists to speak to students? If Adolf Hitler were still alive, following your logic, USC should invite him with great honor? It’s our freedom to object inviting Dalai Lama, which is none of your business.
Did you really just compare bringing a nobel peace prize recipient to bringing Adolph Hitler…wow…what a great example of your point. honestly get over it…If certain students don’t want to participate they don’t have to…just like any other event on this campus.
I think you misunderstood what I said. I didn’t try to compare Obama to Adolph Hitler. My point is that it is ridiculous to invite anyone who only meets the criteria of being politicians, religious leaders or scientists. I just want to show my objection, not asking or forcing others not to participate any event on campus. By the way, I always treat Obama’s receiving the Nobel Peace Prize as a joke. And it is the same with Dalai Lama.
lol
Inviting politicians, religious leaders, and scientists (especially scientists!) to speak to students is something that all universities do. Being exposed to lots of perspectives and world views is part of college life. And I still don’t understand the comparison to Hitler – that’s not a rational or effective analogy to make. USC has every right to invite the Dalai Lama to speak and you have every right to object; I just don’t understand why, in your mind, him being a religious/political leader makes him unworthy to be invited.
I agree with Dee.
You can protest all you want, but one of the most important things about college, I think, is gaining a more worldly view of how sh*t works/thinks/believes/etc.. You won’t learn crap if you keep shutting down anything remotely considered to be outside your beliefs or views.
With that said, if Adolf Hitler were alive and to speak at our school… I’D ATTEND IN A HEARTBEAT. Not because I think he’s a great guy, but because he mattered.
Can we stop talking about Hitler now?
Yes, they are. They fail to realize that one of the benefits of a private education is a diversification of ideas and perspectives…maybe they’ll never learn that. Everyone here who is hating would much rather have some speaker that fuels their confirmation biases, rather than open them up. I hate to say it but I suspect most of these posts objecting to the Dalai Lama are coming from 18-21 year old undergrads that are just regurgitating the rhetoric of their mom and dad…sigh, so sad.