Dr Elie Wiesel

Betty Williams

1986 /
1986 Nobel Peace Laureate and an eminent peace activist

1976
1976 Nobel Peace Laureate

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I dont think Ill ever forget my first meeting with the Dalai Lama. It took place at his invitation and lasted.. I do not remember how long it lasted. The moment had a kind of mystical quality. We instantly became each others friend and ally. More encounters and conversations followed, often with my wife Marion, in many cities on more than one continent. We spoke of memory and resistance, hope and commitment, the passion for learning and the limits of human solidarity. His curiosity for all that concerns Jewish destiny, faith and survival moved me. As does his optimism reflecting his eternal quest for spirituality. We never stopped collaborating on issues aimed at bringing people and traditions together.

When he was honored in Washington with the Congressional Medal, in the presence of President George W. Bush and many Congressional leaders, I renewed to him my pledge that one day I will join him on his journey home, to Tibet. Be assured, friend: the Jew that I am likes to keep his promises.

I wonder if St. Francis of Assisi and Buddha knew each other? St. Francis must surely have known something of Buddha to have written in the prayer: Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. Every time I have the honour to be in the company of His Holiness the Dalai Lama I thank the God of

my understanding for the privilege of knowing and loving this Buddha in human form. Its a purity of love I have never known before. And as I watch His Holiness touch and speak to others I know he radiates this love and they are forever changed. I have seen this man who refers to himself as a simple Buddhist monk address thousands of people and touch every one. I have watched in awe as his laughter effects the disenfranchised and poverty-stricken people and for a short while they are lost in the happiness he brings with his being.

And yet I know, deep inside, the pain His Holiness must feel at the fate of his beloved Tibet and his people. No one sees as he chants alone. But we who love him know the freedom of Tibet is what he works for every day. He does not (as I do) insult the Chinese government. Rather he works diligently to create a productive and meaningful dialogue with those who have stolen his country. And, this I can promise you, Your Holiness, while there is breath in my body I will try to help you regain Tibet.

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