Snowleopards
Hi. It’s a much better day here at Owl Farm. It’s hot and the juices are flowing. Spent yesterday watching the Dalai Lama, and the rest of the afternoon writing about it for huffingtonpost — link will be up in a few hours. I started the with paragraph below: But first check out the photo that I snapped of Hunter a few years ago.
ASPEN — My late husband, Hunter S. Thompson, said that he was a teenage girl trapped in the body of an elderly dope fiend. I realized something as I watched the highest ranking monk of Tibetan Buddhism: His Holiness is a teenage girl trapped in the body of a Dalai Lama! It was all very familiar, indeed spectacular, as I observed his demeanor during the keynote address he gave at the Aspen Institute Saturday. I have studied the Dalai Lama’s teachings, practiced another form of Buddhism, and am even more curious now because Hunter was so often compared to him.
They were one of the pairs in the Separated at Birth books, while the only color cover of the Paris Review featured a portrait of Hunter as the Dalai Lama (by Ralph Steadman).
Before His Holiness talked about the 21st as the “Century of Dialogue” (an end to what President Eisenhower so presciently warned us about in 1961), and his views of China’s original Marxist Socialism being taken over by capitalist corruption and totalitarianism, he giggled to the audience, took off his shoes, and made himself comfy in the sofa while he admired his own new scarf. Yep, it’s true, I thought, he’s indeed a child at heart, this wise, fun-loving, worshipped spiritual leader.
He has said on many occasions that he would like to retire. But he is still in the body of a Dalai Lama with a job to do. And he did it well.
But first he had to ask his interpreter what the topic was going to be today:
“Values Based on Leadership and Universal Responsibility.” He sighed: “As usual, I don’t have a prepared text. I’m lazy. Not making sort of homework.” He giggled and we laughed. He said he apologized if anyone was disappointed by the relaxed style of his keynote speech. He smiled and looked over at an assemblage of Chinese scholars, whom he described as always “very, very prepared.” In India in 1956, however, the Parliament had no discipline, he said — and it was wonderful.
His Holiness did say Americans seem to fit with his style of casual discourse. In England he finds people much more formal, though after a while he can get them “to relax.” More laughter from the audience. Then he looked at the Chinese scholars again and said he hoped that one day he could find such a relaxed atmosphere in Beijing….Huge applause and a sense of Hope filled the room.
Anyway, I didn’t write about the Q&A after the speech, as my post was getting too long so maybe I’ll do it here. If I have time (before opening the Gonzo film at Paepke Auditorium tonight). You’ll notice, that his teachings are so very similar to the Gonzo Way.
Your friend,
Anita Thompson
