By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer

A sprawling event outside UB Stadium will entertain and educate thousands of those who come to the North Campus on Sept. 19 to hear the Distinguished Speakers Series lecture by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama Experience—located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Coventry Entrance and Augspurger Road near Bissell Hall—will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and re-open after the lecture at 5 p.m., running until 6:30 p.m.

The event will feature regional organizations with information on Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as food concessions and a book fair with books, CDs, commemorative posters and other items for sale.

"It's going to be one of the focal points of things to do before the lecture," said Jay Friedman, assistant director of the Office of Special Events. "Once people get on campus, we want to give them something to do."

Organizers estimate the event will attract at least 3,000 people and are prepared for more than twice that number. The Dalai Lama's DSS lecture is expected to attract an audience of more than 30,000.

Friedman pointed out there also are significant numbers of people expected to be on campus in the hours before the lecture because of the special "Day of Learning" (See story in this issue for details about the Day of Learning). In addition, DSS ticket holders have been encouraged to arrive well ahead of the lecture to ease concerns about traffic and parking.

The UB Bookstore has signed on to participate in the Dalai Lama Experience in partnership with Snow Lion Publications, said Friedman. A homegrown publishing house from Ithaca, Snow Lion Publications publishes and distributes hundreds of works devoted to Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism and culture. Top sellers and other commemorative items will be for sale at the event.

Local organizations that will participate in the event include the Western New York division of the National Coalition of Communities for Justice, the Himalayan Institute of Buffalo, the Buffalo Mindfulness Group, the Center for the Arts and Buffalo Yoga. Also confirmed are representatives from the Amitabha Foundation in Rochester, PeaceWeavers in Bath, N.Y., and Bikram's Yoga College of India.

UB alumnus Lama Surya Das, one of the foremost western Buddhist meditation teachers and spiritual leader of the Dzogchen Center, also is scheduled to take part in the event.

UB participants will include UB Students for a Free Tibet, the undergraduate Student Association and the Graduate Student Association.

Campus Dining and Shops will provide food to browsers at the Dalai Lama Experience.

John Brady, assistant director of dining services, said the food to be served has been selected based on input from an institution that hosted His Holiness in the past. Vegetarian hotdogs, hamburgers and pitas, various salads and cheese pizza all are on the menu—as well as four popular varieties of hummus. More traditional outdoor fare also will be available.

"We wanted to do it right," said Brady. "A lot of these items are both vegan and vegetarian."

The casual atmosphere of the event should resemble that of the large tailgate parties and cookouts outside stadiums before football games, Friedman said, but noted that the Dalai Lama Experience seeks to educate as well as entertain.

"We're hoping to provide a bit of an opportunity for people to become educated before going in to hear the Dalai Lama speak," he said.

He said booths will provide last-minute information to ticket holders who want to learn a little more about the Dalai Lama, Tibet or Tibetan Buddhism to enhance their experience at the lecture.

Further, Friedman pointed out that most of the groups that will distribute information organize frequent activities related to Tibetan Buddhism in communities throughout the region. He said some people in the audience will want to find local resources so their interest in Buddhism and its message of peace does not end with His Holiness' speech.

There are a lot more opportunities in the area to learn about Tibetan Buddhism, Friedman explained. "These associations work throughout the year."