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Thousands Expected in San Jose for Dalai Lama Lecture

SAN JOSE (KCBS/BCN) - More than 12,000 people were expected at the San Jose Convention center Tuesday afternoon for a lecture by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

The Tibetan Buddhist leader's speech was expected to focus on mind training, based on "Eight Verses of Training the Mind: Awakening the Heart of Compassion," an 11th-century text by Langri Tangpa that focused on developing appropriate regard for the self and others, turning obstacles into opportunities for positive change, and cultivating compassion for all beings.

The event was sponsored by the Gyuto Vajrayana Center, a San Jose-based nonprofit that promotes Tibetan Buddhism.

Tickets, priced at $40, were sold out.

Tuesday's appearance was just one of a number of events for the Dalai Lama during his four-day visit to Silicon Valley.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

His Holiness was also scheduled to visit Costano Elementary School in East Palo Alto, where students prepared with a month-long course in the history and life of the Dalai Lama.

The Forgotten International, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, orchestrated the appearance at Costano Elementary. TFI founder Tom Nazario was pleased with the questions students prepared to ask the Dalai Lama during his Wednesday visit.

"For example, what does he miss the most about Tibet? How was his life as a little boy before the Chinese government came in and took over that area of the world? What he would like to do most before he passes? What advice would he give young people today?"

The students were clearly eager to learn more about the Buddhist monk.

"Some of the questions are if you had an opportunity to do something in your life that you may have made a mistake about, what was that and how would you change it? A question about how he likes being a monk," recounted Nazario. "Does he ever miss not having a family and children?"

The Dalai Lama was also scheduled to speak Wednesday at San Jose State University's Event Center, and Thursday at Stanford University.

"He's a very, very peaceful man. People get attracted to that kind of individual. He's troubled about materialism. He's troubled about consumption."

Nazario said it was no surprise that the Dalai Lama continued to command such interest.

"It's fairly simple. His advice that he gives to a lot of individuals is something very much along the lines of common sense. The importance of treating people as kind as possible because if you make people happy, they're less likely to make your life unhappy."

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)

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