16 January 2012
Dalai Lama to deliver 2012 Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion
His Holiness The Dalai Lama will deliver this year's Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion during a historic visit to Dundee in June.
His Holiness will visit the city as part of a tour of the UK on Friday, June 22nd as guest of the University of Dundee and Dundee City Council. He will give his talk, entitled 'Education of The Heart: a new world order of compassion', at Dundee's Caird Hall that afternoon.
He will also visit Edinburgh and Inverness during his visit to Scotland between Thursday 21st and Sunday 24th June. His Holiness will arrive in the UK a week earlier and take part in several public programmes in Manchester and London before moving north of the border.
The visit is the result of six years of work by Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association to bring His Holiness The Dalai Lama to Scotland, and who are co-ordinating the visit. Together with partner organisations across the country, they have put together a packed programme which will allow thousands of people the chance to hear from one of the world's most revered spiritual leaders in person.
His Holiness's visit to Dundee will see him welcomed to the city by a pipe band and members of the public. He will then deliver the annual Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion. This event will top off a week of graduation ceremonies held by the University at the Caird Hall.
The talk will focus on a message that His Holiness has been communicating for many years. Although the West has been immensely successful in respect to what he refers to as education of the brain, he has a very keen interest in also highlighting the need for a balanced approach which includes an education of the heart by cultivating love and compassion.
Professor Pete Downes, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee, said, "It will be an honour to welcoming His Holiness The Dalai Lama to Dundee and truly a privilege to have him deliver next year's Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion.
"His visit will enhance understanding of all faiths and cultures, and help promote relations between these different groups. Cultivating love and compassion is central to the Dalai Lama's teaching, and his talk presents a rare opportunity for people in the city to hear from one of the world's most influential spiritual leaders."
Dundee Lord Provost John Letford added, "It is a privilege for Dundee to be visited by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. His spiritual leadership and unstinting promotion of human values will be well received in the city of discovery."
Tickets for the Caird Hall lecture, costing £25, £15 or £10, will be available from from Wednesday, 1st February and can be purchased from the Dundee City Box Office, City Square, by calling 01382 434940, or by visiting www.dundeebox.co.uk.
Notes to editors:
THE EDINBURGH INTER FAITH ASSOCIATION
The Edinburgh Inter Faith Association (EIFA) has been highly successful in bringing numerous high profile religious and spiritual leaders or Nobel Peace Prize laureates or nominees to Scotland and has either co-ordinated or jointly co-ordinated visits in the recent past by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, His Holiness Swami Chitanand Saraswati Ji, Chief Rabbi David Rosen, Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ji, Sister Joan Chittister, Arun Gandhi grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Archbishop Elias Chacour, Mother Meera, Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maquire and many other globally known figures.
EIFA will partner with the Dundee City Council, the University of Dundee, the City of Edinburgh Council, The Highland Council, The National Library of Scotland and The Representative of His Holiness The Dalai Lama for Northern Europe to deliver the visit programme. Victor Spence is the visit co-ordinator for the visit in Scotland. Victor Spence will also liaise with organisers of The Dalai Lama's visit to Manchester and London which are part of a wider visit to the United Kingdom.
This is the Dalai Lama's 5th visit to Scotland in a near 20 year period. The most recent visits were in November 2005 and June 2004.
HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA OF TIBET
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.
Now living in exile in India His Holiness The Dalai Lama is a Nobel Laureate as well as being one of the most known, loved and revered religious and spiritual leaders in the world today.
His Holiness has travelled to more than 62 countries spanning 6 continents. He has met with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations. He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists.
Since 1959 His Holiness has received numerous awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.
His Holiness The Dalai Lama describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.
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