The Dalai Lama on Martin Luther King Jr.

The Dalai Lama looked cursorily at the images that were on the wall as he was led through the exhibits of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on September 23, 2009. It was my sense that to him the images were secondary to the verbal explanations that were being given to him by two staffers on their relevance. Even the large recognizable image of President Lincoln, the emancipator of the slaves, only got a quick glimpse from him, not to speak of the different individuals who played crucial roles in changing the American society, but who are not much known to the general public.

But the Dalai Lama was listening very attentively to the explanation of the historical evolution of the civil rights movement in the United States. As he strolled along the different sections of the exhibits, he posed occasional questions to the museum staff, the nature of which indicated that he was trying to put the movement in perspective and to see what sense it made today. At one stage, he asked the young African American man who was doing the explanation then as to what the total population of the slaves was during that stage. At another stage he wondered whether there were any non-African American slaves in the United States then. “Any Asian?” he asked. In addition to the staffer’s response, Dr. Benjamin Hooks, a civil rights leader, who was accompanying His Holiness intervened many times to provide a more wholesome answer to the Dalai Lama’s questions.

Discriminatory policies were a constant theme of the exhibit. One section had a replica of restaurant with some characters occupying some chairs with others being empty. His Holiness was informed that the African Americans had to pay for their food to the restaurant staff at the table but then had to procure their food in the kitchen. They could not sit at the table. He was informed about the movement started by an activist just to sit at the table and order for food that was not provided. The movement expanded with more and more people joining the individual. As he absorbed this, the Dalai Lama turned to Thupten Jinpa la, his interpreter, and spoke in Tibetan, “Didn’t Mahatma Gandhi do something similar in South Africa?”

A poignant moment came when the Dalai Lama was taken to the balcony site where Dr. Martin Luther King was standing when he was shot. As Dr. Hooks and Dr. Kyles (who was with Dr. King that fateful day in 1968) were describing the situation to him, I could see His Holiness observing some moments of silence. This balcony was on the second floor  and there were a horde of media people gathered below who were recording everything. I wondered what His Holiness must be thinking then.

The answer came as we moved to his next schedule, which was addressing the media in the Museum’s auditorium. In the past whenever I had the occasion to be at such meetings with the press by His Holiness, I would either find him just making some cursory remarks or throwing the ball to the media by saying something like, “I have nothing to say, questions.”

But this time, he sort of poured his heart out, giving a very immediate and personal reflection of what he had just seen. He also dwelt on this as he addressed the luncheon crowd who had gathered to see him receive the International Freedom Award, as well as during his public talk in the afternoon. In the process, it seemed to me, His Holiness was putting Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement in context and determining why their experience mattered even today. He spoke of being both sad and inspired by what he saw and heard at the Museum.

His Holiness empathized with Dr. King’s experience and was saddened to learn of the trials and tribulations he and others had to undergo in the process of seeking respect and dignity. He indicated that even though the civil rights movement had success, there were still many social problems afflicting a country as rich as the United States. He talked about the gap between the rich and the poor as a case in point. He was conveying the message that Dr. Martin Luther King’s movement mattered even to today’s situation and that people need to remember this.

A very strong message that His Holiness conveyed was that it was not enough to be merely saddened by the experience. Instead, one needed to look at this as an inspiration to tackle the problems afflicting the society of the day. He took the message that despite all the hurdles and obstacles, Dr. King was able to challenge them and turn them into strengths that ultimately led to the success of his movement. His Holiness referred to Dr. King and Gandhi as “great masters” and said that we should emulate their consistent reliance on non-violence as the means to find resolution of their problems. Secondly, His Holiness conveyed the important and positive role that spiritualism played in the lives of these leaders. Dr. King got his strength from his Christian faith, His Holiness told one gathering.

I thought His Holiness did a good segue by reminding the people that while the dreamers have passed on, their dreams still remained. He said in the quest of making the world more compassionate and a better place, we need to study biological and natural developments in order to get the best out of our society in the realization of our dreams. Calling himself a “feminist” he indirectly challenged the womenfolk to take a leadership role in turning the world into a compassionate society. He drew attention to how mothers, whether human beings or animals, were better at taking care of their children and said that they were better placed in the transformation of the society as a whole, too.

It was clear that this maiden visit of the Dalai Lama to Memphis and, specifically to the Civil Rights Museum, had made an impact on the people there and created a special bond between the two communities who could find common ground in their similar experiences.

Photo Caption: The Dalai Lama prays on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Memphis, Tenn., where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. With him are Rev. Billy Kyles, center, and Rev. Benjamin Hooks, right. Kyles was on the balcony with King when King was killed. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

http://weblog.savetibet.org/2009/09/29/the-dalai-lama-on-why-martin-luther-king-matters/