The last time the Dalai Lama was on the Middlebury campus, in 1990, he concluded his visit—one in which he participated in an interfaith service and spoke about spirit and nature before 4,000 people in Nelson Arena—by blessing a community lunch and helping to plant a Norway maple tree behind Munroe Hall.
The time before that, in 1984, His Holiness made the trek up the mountain to Ripton and the Robert Frost Trail, where he had a magical encounter with the Rabbi Victor Reichert, a summer resident and longtime friend of Frost. The two spiritual men exchanged blessings. Later that autumn weekend, the 14th Dalai Lama engaged in a spirited public discussion with William F. Buckley and spoke to more than 3,000 people about the roles that wisdom and compassion play in attaining enlightenment.
We mention these memorable moments, so personal to this place, because this fall the College will welcome His Holiness back to Middlebury for a third time. As in his two previous visits, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak about issues of critical importance to humanity. On Friday, October 12, he will speak to College faculty, staff, and students about “educating the heart.” The next morning, he will deliver a public address titled “Finding Common Ground: Ethics for a Whole World.” (Tickets for both events, which will be held in Nelson Arena, will be available through the Middlebury College Box Office.)
The visit, built around the theme of “cultivating hope, wisdom, and compassion” is designed to help people explore resources for hope, optimism, and cooperation, while being challenged to lead lives of courage and engagement.
“The problems that face humankind today, and that this generation of students will be called upon to address,” says Middlebury President Ronald D. Liebowitz, “will necessitate not only knowledge and technological ingenuity, but also compassion, determination, and sacrifice. These human attributes and virtues have long been fostered and sustained by the world’s religious, spiritual, and philosophical communities.”
Some have thought that the Dalai Lama may be attracted to Vermont because it reminds him of his childhood home in Tibet. When he arrives in October, perhaps he will pay a return visit to the Frost Trail or check in on the tree he planted. Or maybe he will craft a new memory to join the others shared by this fortunate, let’s even say blessed, community.