Dalai Lama Lauds Women Leaders
Published: Wednesday, 27 September, 2006
Long Beach, Calif., USA 27 Sept 2006 (Don Jergler/www.presstelegram.com)
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama was in Long Beach on Tuesday to offer his vision
of how to build a better world: More women must become leaders and schools must
teach compassion.
The conference at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center drew a cast of prominent
speakers.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver and Martha Stewart
perked up the crowd in the morning, followed at noon by Duchess of York Sarah
Ferguson, "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert, columnist Anna Quindlen
and ABC President Ann Sweeney.
As the day went on, the crowd swelled in anticipation of the
exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's speech, drawing the biggest crowd in the
event's 20-year history, according to organizers.
The Dalai Lama and Shriver appeared on stage together for an
hour in the evening, as he delivered lessons on the importance of women,
motherhood, inner peace and harmony.
Change in society begins with the mother, who passes those
feelings on to her family, which in turn influences society, he said.
The Dalai Lama also expressed concern that values and compassion
have been ignored in education.
"The education system has been negligent about our
inner value," he said.
"We have to find ways to educate moral values without
religion," said the Dalai Lama, who was quick to add that it is important
to respect all religions as well as the beliefs of those who are not religious.
At one point during the speech, laughter erupted when the
monk donned a red visor.
In a society where not everyone goes to church, too many
people do not get exposed to lessons on morality or "secular ethics,"
a term he said he prefers.
Shriver pleaded with him to remove it, but he pointed up to
the rafters and said, "Very strong light."
"That's your interest," he said pointing to the
lights and the audience. Then, turning his finger to the hat, he added,
"This is my interest."
"As a man I can honestly say that I've been fortunate
to have surrounded myself with smart, savvy, strong, independent and
accomplished women," he said.
Schwarzenegger focused his brief speech early in the day on California women,
avoiding repeating political rhetoric that in the past has caused him problems.
Unlike past years, Schwarzenegger was not interrupted by
protesters inside the conference, although the California Nurses Association
staged a protest outside the convention center.
After a few more complimentary words about women, including
his wife Maria and his two daughters, who introduced him, Schwarzenegger had
these parting words:
"One of the things I've learned (is that) when women on
a mission get together: smart men stay out of the way."
The governor was followed by Stewart, who talked about her
career from aspiring architect to stock broker to caterer to building a
multimillion-dollar image and reputation.
"I have not been motivated by money," she said
early in her speech.
Shriver discussed her experiences as First Lady and talked
about organizing the conference.
The first two conferences were shrouded in politics, with
Schwarzenegger in a political war with public employee unions and his failed
special election hanging over the events.
"He got what we politely call the comeuppance in the
polls," Shriver said of the election.
"Stop it. Stop. Stop," she mouthed, as if
embarrassed by her daughter's remarks.
Maria Shriver discussed her life and transition from
television anchorwoman and author to mother and caretaker of her elderly
parents.
Turning the subject to Schwarzenegger, as a governor who is
"having the time of his life," she said, "I think he's doing a
great job at that, and I'm really proud of him."
Last year her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, fell and broke
her hip the night before the conference. This year the elder Shriver suffered
another accident, falling on Friday and breaking a knee and ribs.
Cameras turned to Eunice Shriver, who was in a wheelchair
near the front of the audience, and
flashed a large image of her on the big screens.
The luncheon session was led off by Russert of NBC's
"Meet the Press," who talked about his father, who worked two
full-time jobs, and his mother, who died last year.
"She taught me that you don't have to make a lot of
noise for people to pay attention to you," he said.
Columnist Anna Quindlen's message was that one must help
people as well as help themselves.
"A lot of women in this room want to do well, but if we
do not do good too, doing well is not good enough," she said.
The doll is used as the logo for her "Chances for
Children" charity, she said.
Ferguson brought with her to
the podium a little red-headed rag doll, which she said was in her office in
the World Trade Center
when it was destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
A firefighter later found it in the rubble and put it in his
hat, and it was identified by talk show host Larry King as Ferguson's doll, which she calls "Little
Red."
"She's a fighter, she's a survivor, she's a woman and
she's here to tell the tale," she said of the doll.
At age 12, Ferguson's mother
left her to be with a man in Argentina,
she said.
"I never saw her again in England,"
Ferguson said,
adding that the situation caused her to build a fortress "and everybody
knows it as Fergie."
She went on to discuss the compulsive eating problem she
developed.
"My only friend was food," said Ferguson, who is now a spokeswoman for Weight
Watchers.
Despite, or because of, being left by her mother, Ferguson, a mother of
two, said she places great importance on motherhood.
"I believe that mother(hood) is everything," Ferguson said.
Shriver presented her Minerva Awards for women who made
contributions to the state, with a lifetime Minerva Award going to Sally Ride,
the first woman astronaut.
Ride, who has worked to encourage girls and young women to
study science, gave a can-do speech.
The Dalai Lama closed the conference with a three-minute
meditation session, which commanded a deep silence from the large crowd.
"When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of flying
into space, and amazingly, that dream came true," she said.
People closed their eyes or bowed their heads and took
calculated breaths at his instruction. He asked people to either reflect on
their religion or to focus on their mother's compassion.
He then exited with thanks to the audience, his hands
clasped.
Shriver closed the conference with a few quick words.
"If Arnold
wins the election, I'll be back," she said. "Otherwise, see you
later."
