Dalai Lama Presents Message of Peace, Compassion at NSU

Dalai Lama receives honorary degree of humane letters from President Ray Ferrero, Jr., Dr. George Hanbury, II, and Dr. Fred Lippman.

More than 10,000 people from across South Florida flocked to NSU on Saturday, Sept. 18 to listen to the message of peace and compassion delivered in a historic address by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gaytso.

The 1989 Nobel Prize winner delivered his hour-long address on “Universal Responsibility” to a rapt audience on the lawn outside the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center.

His message was simple and direct. "Human affection and loving kindness, I believe, are the most important values,” he said.

And his message was timely—coming to residents of a state hard hit by three hurricanes over a month. ''A few days before I was making this trip, there were some worries in my mind whether or not this part of your region would be spared the horrors of the hurricanes,'' he said. ``But at least in this part of the Florida state, it seems that you have been spared. So it's nice to see smiles on your faces.''

The NSU address was the Dalai Lama’s first in South Florida since 1999. Citing the exiled Tibetan leader’s dedication to human rights, NSU President Ray Ferrero, Jr. conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. At the end of the program, His Holiness dedicated a 4-foot-tall, brass prayer wheel (generously commissioned by Albert Miniaci) which will be on permanent display in the Alvin Sherman Library.

Following the morning program, His Holiness toured the Health Professions Division, where he sat in on a pharmacy class and took questions from students. The class was part of NSU’s distance learning program — simulcast in West Palm Beach and Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Click here to view the Dalai Lama Photo Gallery