I recently got the opportunity to see The Dalai Lama speak at Radio City Music Hall. It was an interesting experience, if a bit dry and dense at times. I'm not a Buddhist, but I find it hard to not like the guy, and I think anyone can learn from his message of non-violence, compassion and avoiding being self-centered. And yet, there are people who don't like him, and downright dislike him. The Chinese government, for one. Probably some other organized religions, because they don't have leaders who are as loved as he is. I would guess that it is one of those groups that funded the protest outside of Radio City.
Whereas most political/religious figures would ignore the fact that they were being protested, The Dalai Lama did address the situation, saying that the protesters believed in a sect of Buddhism that he doesn't believe in. He said that they have their freedom of speech to protest him, and he has his freedom of speech to say that he doesn't share their beliefs.
The whole experience was interesting to me (even though I dozed off for a minute) and I'm glad I went.
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