“So we finish the 18th and he’s gonna stiff me,” Spackler said. Murray’s character, a golf course groundskeeper named Carl Spackler, said he’d caddied once for the Dalai Lama. Some of it is curiosity: If you use this, what is the feeling? (He points to his groin.)”Ī friend suggested mentioning to His Holiness the actor Bill Murray’s 1980 comedy Caddyshack, which contained one of the first pop culture references to His Holiness. But then, many monks have the same experience. “Then, of course, sometimes beautiful women. “I’m attached to my watch and my prayer beads,” he said. During an interview in 1993 with The New York Times, the Dalai Lama said his weaknesses include anger and attachments. ![]() He’s been asked about his hobbies (gardening, feeding birds, reading books on World War I), his views on birth control (he is a proponent) and his weaknesses, which has prompted some unexpected answers. It’s hard to create a list of compelling questions that the Dalai Lama hasn’t been asked already. “It’s all done by post or by hand couriers.” “We don’t really use email at all with our overseas missions now,” Takhla said. In March 2009, Canadian researchers alleged China-based hackers had penetrated the Dalai Lama’s computer servers here, stealing months worth of email correspondence. The other isn’t, and is used for sensitive matters and to type up official correspondence. Sitting in his office, decorated by a few political cartoons lampooning China and a map with pins marking the many countries the Dalai Lama has visited, Takhla said the Dalai Lama’s staff now uses two computers. and typically includes servings of rice, steamed dumplings, cooked vegetables such as eggplant, potatoes and peas. Lunch, the Dalai Lama’s final meal of the day, is at about 11 a.m. ![]() “There are occasional meetings when we’re on the road in different countries.” Takhla said. After a pause, he mentioned the Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, who wrote The Color Purple, had visited the Dalai Lama here. “No movie stars, no singers,” Takhla said. actor Richard Gere is a longtime ally of His Holiness, Takhla said he couldn’t remember another such celebrity requesting an audience in Dharamsala. ![]() His office receives about 400 requests a month and accepts about seven or eight, Takhla said. most mornings, the Dalai Lama arrives in his offices here for scheduled meetings and audiences, many of which are with newly arrived refugees from Tibet. His compromise is to eat vegetarian in Dharamsala and meat dishes when he’s on the road and it’s offered by his hosts.Īt about 9 a.m. ![]() “In the 1960s, he tried it for a bit but had to give it up after he got sick with hepatitis,” explains Takhla. Unlike most Buddhist monks, who don’t eat meat because they believe it’s wrong to slaughter any sentient being, the Dalai Lama is not a vegetarian. and mediates for the first five hours of the day, taking a break for a breakfast of black tea, cornflakes and milk, porridge, Tibetan bread with jams, and fruits such as papaya. On other days, he wakes up without the help of an alarm clock at 3:30 a.m. Within India, flight agents on Kingfisher Airlines, the only company that offers flights between New Delhi and Dharamsala, reserve him seats in the back rows of a prop jet, allowing him to board at the last minute to avoid drawing attention.Ĭonsidering he’s 75, His Holiness has a packed schedule. He flies commercial overseas, and is usually seated with eight staffers in business class. Seven months of the year, the Dalai Lama is on the road, travelling at the invitation of foreign countries who pay his trip-related expenses. “Be careful when you are asking historical questions,” he said with a smile. Tenzin Takhla, who is also the Dalai Lama’s nephew, explained that the world’s most famous monk has a habit of providing long, detailed, even meandering answers - dangerous in an interview limited to an hour. DHARAMSALA, INDIA-Little-known fact: His Holiness is a meat-eater.Ī few hours before a scheduled audience with the Dalai Lama in this mist-cloaked Himalayan city of backpackers and Buddhist pilgrims, a member of his staff scheduled a briefing to go over plans for a rare interview in advance of his trip to Toronto this week and provide details about the Dalai Lama’s work schedule, diet and interests.
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