So here's kind of a surprise and something my Tibetan Buddhist friends might say is an "auspicious" way to start your week:
I wrote in my last post that Tibetans were excited because the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday was coming up; but what I didn't write was that I made a trip to New York last week to photograph one of two North American birthday parties held in his honor (another event was held in Los Angeles which would have been a shorter flight for me, but for a variety of reasons I opted to go to New York.)
I only got back to Seattle a matter of hours ago and I have not actually even downloaded my camera memory cards yet, so of course I have not done a thorough edit. But the images I'm posting here today are frames that jumped out at me as I reviewed my shoot on the camera LCD screens and on my iPad, and they are a few of what I emailed from New York to my Tibetan friends in Seattle to post on their Facebook page.
The New York "Tenshug" (Long Life Offering) was a two-day event, the first day being a teaching the Dalai Lama did on meditation (above,) while the second day was the celebratory birthday party. Sixteen thousand people filled the Javits Center in Manhattan for each event.
As you can see from these images, I witnessed unmistakable and overwhelming demonstrations of love and respect that people -- Tibetans and non-Tibetans alike -- obviously feel for this amazing 80-year-old.
It was quite an experience.
