University to Host Dalai Lama

Religious leader set to speak about ethics next month in Leavey CenterSophie MattsonTHE SANTA CLARAJanuary 23, 2014For the first time in Santa Clara’s history, the venerated Dalai Lama will visit the campus on Feb. 24.It will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Leavey Center.The Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak about ethics and compassion because the need for these traits is a message that he has stressed in his teachings.According to David Gray, associate professor of religious studies who specializes in the study of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is unofficially acknowledged as the highest Lama of one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. “He is widely considered by Tibetans to be one of the most learned Lamas alive,” Gray said. “He has written a number of books and he is a very well-respected teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and many people consider him to be their spiritual guide.”A total of 1,000 free tickets for Santa Clara students, faculty and staff will be available on Monday, Jan. 27 at noon. These tickets can be obtained through a link sent out to the university community via email.There will be 250 free tickets for Stanford University students, faculty and staff. In addition, 2,400 seats will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. Most of these tickets will cost $130, but there will be a few priced at $80.“He sees compassion as a universal religious teaching and he feels that compassion needs to be based on a recognition of interdependence, which is the idea that we are all interrelated and connected to one another,” Gray said.According to Jim Lyons, vice president of University Relations, Stanford was originally scheduled to host the Dalai Lama. However, due to a scheduling mishap, Stanford asked Santa Clara to do the honors.“We want to say that we are one of the premier universities in the western part of the country, so we want to open our doors up as much as we can to anybody and everybody,” said Lyons.The theme of the event, hosted by both the Santa Clara  Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism, Research and Education, is Business Ethics and Compassion: A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama.Check out this video clip of the 14th Dalai Lama Speaking at Florida Atlantic University in 2010http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYkuY9cxG3c Contact Sophie Mattson at smattson@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.