HOW I MET THE DALAI LAMA
Svjetlana Smoljan
My
name is Svjetlana and I have an amazing story to tell you.
My husband and I had to travel to Europe at the same time as the
Compassion weekend was happening at the Dharma Centre of Winnipeg.
I felt sorry to miss the retreat, but I had no choice.
We
left on a beautiful day, not cold or hot, just perfect. Our itinerary
was: Winnipeg-Toronto, Toronto-Paris, Paris-Belgrade.
On
the flight from Winnipeg to Toronto, I began to read the “Tibetan
Book of the Dead”. The flight attendant gave out headphones
for the TV programming, but my husband and I were not interested.
I read for a while, and then my husband pointed out that the Dalai
Lama was talking on the TV; Since we didn’t have headphones
we couldn’t hear what was he was saying. Even so, I made a
big smile and said, “Look at him!” My husband replied,
“Don’t worry, you are not going to just watch him on
TV but you will sit next to him.” “Oh sure,” I
said, “of course.” But I kept smiling.
I
took up my reading again and after a while we got ready to land
in Toronto. The image of the Dalai Lama remained with me.
Before
we left for this trip, we had made arrangements with friends from
Toronto to meet us at the airport during our three hour stop-over.
So after we arrived we went outside to watch for them. Soon enough
they came along and we stood there together talking and laughing.
We all agreed that we should go inside and have a drink, but nobody
actually moved. After a while, again someone said that we should
head inside, but still no one budged from the spot. As we kept talking
and laughing several security cars came by. “Must be the Prime
Minister”, one of our friends said. My husband replied, “I
think it’s the Dalai Lama.”
We
all looked to see who would come out of the cars. The first out
were security guards. Then I saw a flash of deep maroon and yellow-ochre,
the colors of the robes of Tibetan monks. Soon I saw a familiar
face, a face I knew from somewhere, maybe from TV.
It
took a few moments for my brain to process the image, but then it
hit me and I knew who I was looking at. It was His Holiness, the
14th Dalai Lama, the very same Dalai Lama that I had watched on
TV less then hour ago. At that moment, I dropped everything I had
in my hands and the scene began to unfold like a slow-motion movie.
My body was paralyzed and I stood motionless, as if glued to the
ground.
Somehow
I recovered my senses and ran into the building. Inside I could
see the Dalai Lama surrounded by his guards. They were all heading
to a special security gate. Along their path people were bowing
and holding out white scarves, hoping for the Dalai Lama to bless
them. And he did.
My
husband suggested that I should take a photograph; I had forgotten
the camera hanging on my shoulder. I tried to position myself to
take a picture, but the security guards were in the way. Finally
I managed to get closer and, miraculously, the Dalai Lama touched
me.
It
was the handshake of my life. The Dalai Lama looked down on me and
smiled. I held his hand between both of my hands and had a huge
smile on my face. I thought, “I am just going to melt away
into the air.” I was beside myself. I have no words to describe
that feeling of overwhelming joy.
I
opened my purse and showed him the copy of the “Tibetan
Book of The Dead” that I had been reading on the airplane.
He paused briefly, looked at it, and made a sound, “Hmmm”,
before walking away toward his gate.
We lost sight of him. I could not believe what had just happened.
My body was trembling. I was crying and smiling at the same time,
overpowered by extremely pleasant feelings.
Our
friends were standing next to me and they were smiling too. I didn’t
know whether they had been there the whole time or whether they
had just appeared. My husband suggested that we go for the drink
that we had intended to get such a long time ago. We walked towards
the restaurant but I could not feel my legs moving. My body was
numb. Everything seemed like a dream.
Finally
we got to the restaurant and sat down at a table. I continued crying
and smiling, just sitting there in a kind of fog. In a little while,
though, my normal awareness returned. My friends and my husband
were talking about what had just happened. They could see how much
this meant to me, especially my husband. They told me how fortunate
I was, what a rare opportunity this was. One of our friends said
that somehow he too felt good and beautiful inside. We talked like
this for an hour or so, and then said goodbye and headed off to
our gate for the flight to Paris.
As
we walked towards the gate I asked my husband, “What are the
chances that the Dalai Lama is traveling to Paris from Toronto on
our flight?” My husband answered, “Very unlikely. This
is a big airport, airplanes are taking off every second. And besides
that, famous people like Dalai Lama usually arrive fifteen or so
minutes before their flight, not two or more hours.” I had
to agree with him.
As
we turn the corner at our gate, I almost fainted ……two
meters away was the Dalai Lama. I just could not believe it. It
was just too much. He passed right by me then on through the last
gate into our plane. I stare at him and he smiles. Other people
around me are smiling too, and taking pictures.
Again
the tears come, and I just stand there with a big, blissful smile
on my face. The same sensations from just a little while ago are
again going through my body and my mind. Then it hits me, “My
goodness, I am going to be in the same plane as the Dalai Lama for
eight hours!”
Once
we boarded the plane, my eyes were fixated on the maroon robe with
a pair of glasses on top of it. The Dalai Lama sat in business class
with six or seven other monks and two security guards. I nodded
my head and smiled at one of the monks; he nodded back and smiled
one of the warmest smiles I had ever seen.
We
found our seats in economy class and settled down. I sat there,
still smiling and crying. My husband suggested that if I wanted
to talk to Dalai Lama, now would be the best time. “Me? You
mean, I should talk to him? What would I say to him?”
Finally,
I gathered all my strength and went to where he was sitting. I knelt
down and said, “Thank you for coming to Canada.”
My
whole body was trembling. I have no idea how could I utter a single
word. I still held “The Tibetan Book of the Dead”
in my hands. I asked him about the book. And he looked at it again
and said, “Tantra, Hmmm.” Then he paused and said, “Practise
altruism.” “Thank you”, I said.
He
took my hand again. I said, “Earlier today at the airport
I could not say a single word, but somehow I have gathered my strength.
Even now I am not sure how I am able to speak to you. You are the
embodiment of everything positive in this world, the Buddha of Compassion.”
He said, “You and I, we are the same.” “But you
have finished your job here on Earth”, I responded. “You
keep coming back just because of us, ordinary people like me, and
I am so thankful for that. He just looked out his window and said,
“Study, study hard”.
I
had surprised myself. I could not believe that I had found the courage
to talk to the Dalai Lama. And I was starting to get used to it
and losing the trembling feeling.
I
don’t know what I was thinking. Who am I? Instead of being
humble I was having a conversation with the Dalai Lama. I think
I said thank you to him a million times. I looked into his eyes.
They were very watery, almost full of tears. His face was calm,
with an occasional smile; everybody knows his smile.
After
about five minutes of talking and being with him, his security guard
stood up and gestured that I should go now. I apologized for bothering
him and went back to my seat.
I
sat down and a river of tears poured off my face. I looked through
the window and saw only the Dalai Lama’s smile. After a while
in that dreamy state of mind I thought that I would like to have
a photograph with him – this thought I recognized as greed.
He had spoken to me, he had held my hand, there was no distance
between us. What else could I possibly want? Nothing! I was really,
really, really, really, really grateful for what just happened and
I couldn’t ask for anything more.
But
my husband said that it would be pity not to have a picture. I agreed.
I would wait for the right moment. We decided to leave the Dalai
Lama in peace and try our luck in the morning. I don’t know
how I got to sleep, but finally I did.
Just
before landing in Paris the Dalai Lama agreed to pose for a photograph;
He stood next to me, took my hand, holding it like a child would
do, and smiled. My husband took the picture.
We
went happily back to our seats.
I
asked my husband how he knew that I would meet the Dalai Lama personally?
He said he had no idea; He just knew.
I
feel so happy and so lucky. Every time I close my eyes I see the
Dalai Lama’s almond-shaped eyes, filled with warmth. My heart
swells with joy and my cheeks get wet because my eyes are just a
continuation of my heart. After all, just as the Dalai Lama said,
“We are the same”.
Now,
when I remember how sorry I felt for missing the Compassion Retreat
in Winnipeg, I can’t help but smile. I missed the Empowerment
but instead I spent precious time with the main focus of the Empowerment,
the embodiment of the Buddha of Compassion himself. That is destiny!!!
