From Emory University…

Internationally known humanitarian and award-winning actor Richard Gere will join Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker for “The Creative Journey: Artists in Conversation with the Dalai Lama on Spirituality and Creativity” at Emory University on Oct. 19. The event is part of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’s return visit to the Emory campus Oct. 17-19 in his capacity as Presidential Distinguished Professor.

The “Creative Journey” takes place Tuesday, Oct. 19 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Woodruff P.E. Center on the Emory campus. Tickets are available for purchase at dalailama.emory.edu.

According to the website, tickets range in price from $40 for general admission bleacher seating to $65, $85 and $100 for reserved seating on the main level at the Woodruff Physical Education Center (capacity: 4,000).

Here’s a direct link to tickets for the event.

Tickets for the Dalai Lama’s October appearances at Emory went on sale this morning at 10am, but the direct link from Emory is currently broken.

Here are some working links to purchase tickets from TicketAlternative’s website.

• H.H. The Dalai Lama – Summit On Happiness (Oct 17th)
  
• H.H. The Dalai Lama – Compassion Meditation (Oct 18th)
• International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism (Oct 19th)
• H.H. The Dalai Lama – The Creative Journey (Oct 19th)

FYI…The Dalai Lama will be joined by Alice Walker and Phillip Glass for “The Creative Journey” talk on October 19th.

From an Emory news release…

Emory University’s 10th annual Tibet Week is set for March 22-27. Through films, lectures, art and other exhibits and events, Tibet Week provides opportunities for the Emory and Atlanta communities to experience firsthand the diverse dimensions of Tibetan Buddhist culture. It brings both Tibetan artists and monks to campus as ambassadors to share religious and artistic traditions.

Click here to view the complete schedule of Tibet Week activities.

In other Tibet/Emory news, the Dalai Lama has scheduled a return visit to Emory in October.

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The Emory Wheel has the video (see above) from an interview the Dalai Lama gave to the press on Sunday.

For anyone that hasn’t had the opportunity to hear the Dalai Lama speak or will not be able to attend this afternoon’s public talk at Centennial Olympic Park, this is a great way to get beyond the headlines and hear the man in his own words.

UPDATE: WABE interviewed Emory Wheel editor Chris Megerian about his experience interviewing the Dalai Lama in the video above. Click the audio steam below to listen.

Back to the headlines…

The AJC and AP report from the faculty ceremony this morning where the Dalai Lama was officially instated as a member of the Emory Faculty. During the ceremony, the Dalai Lama was presented with his own Faculty ID card by student Emily Allen who went on to say “I suspect you will not need to carry this with you for identification, but in any case, we wanted you to know you are welcome,” The Dalai Lama also exhibited his famous self-deprecating sense of humor when he exclaimed “With no training, no modern education, now somehow I got a professorship. I feel really rewarded.”

Photo Courtesy of Emory University

With Dalai Lama’s much anticipated visit to Emory now in full swing, the AJC reports on long term plans between the university and Tibetian monks that stretch beyond this weekend.  Each party has a challenging task, with the monks teaching over-stressed and caffeinated college students spirituality and meditation, while Emory faculty will teach monks in India concepts of modern math and science.

Anything worth doing isn’t easy.  Expect a lot of beneficial things to come out of this partnership in the future.

More info on the partnership can be found on Emory’s website here.