HH Dalai Lama Visit to Fayetteville, Arkansas

This past Wednesday was a very special day. It was the day that the Dalai Lama came to visit Fayetteville, Arkansas and discuss nonviolence as the ultimate way to solving the worlds problems. In addition to his keynote presentation in the afternoon, there was a panel discussion held in the morning with

Sister Helen Prejean of the Congregation of St Joseph, who is perhaps best known for "Dead Man Walking An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States" as well as "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions" which was inspired by her belief that several of those whose executions she witnessed were innocent. She has dedicated most of her life to the poor and powerless and has been working to abolish capital punishment for over 25 years.

Vincent Harding, who is an icon of America's Civil Rights movement, traveled to Atlanta where he met Martin Luther King, Jr and later worked toward the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The panel discussion can be seen here

His Holiness the Dalai Lama who has worked tirelessly for the betterment of the six million Tibetans who currently remain in Tibet, as well as those who have chosen to follow him. He has become a major spokesperson for human rights, environmental concerns and the practice of nonviolence in solving problems that range from the purely personal to the broadly political. He has also worked tirelessly to promote understanding and harmony among the world's religious traditions.

The photo opportunities were not so good but I got a couple of shots that I thought were worth sharing.

I was sitting directly in front of a huge screen where the speakers were being projected.  Here I must have gotten the shot when Vincent Harding was about to speak and the previous shot of Sister Prejean and HH Dalai Lama were fading into the background.
I like it because it shows visually all three in harmony, with one voice for nonviolence.

This is a shot of His Holiness just before receiving his Honorary Degree from Chancellor Gearhart.

This is just prior to the opening of the morning session. 

The afternoon presentation "Turning Swords into Ploughshares" can be seen here