NBC29 has confirmed that the Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism, will make two stops in Charlottesville on October 11. His holiness will make appearances at the Paramount Theater and the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in downtown Charlottesville.
Late Monday afternoon, an advance team from the Dalai Lama's New York office was in Charlottesville to check the two venues.
The Paramount Theater lecture will start at 10:00 a.m.. During which, five top medical experts from the University of Virginia will join the Dalai Lama to talk about compassionate medical care in the 21st century. The Paramount Theater holds 1,000 people, with tickets going to medical professionals first.
At 1:30 p.m., the Dalai Lama will address an expected crowd of 6,000 at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion. The topic will be his latest book - "Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World."
While Charlottesville is the host city, American Heritage Voices - a local nonprofit - is coordinating the trip.
Bobbi Grant Llewellyn with American Heritage Voices said, "It's been a challenge. We've worked on it for three years."
The city is currently setting up a website to handle all the details about the Dalai Lama's trip in October. That will include how you can go about getting tickets to attend the lectures. The site will be up and running by the end of the week.
"He has a lot of followers in the area," said Charlottesville Mayor Satyendra Huja. "We've learned some good ideas from him and he has lots of wisdom that he can share with us."
The lectures will also be live streamed at Piedmont Virginia Community College, the Jefferson Theater, and potentially at a UVA venue. Those details are still being worked out.
Tibetan Buddhists traditionally believe the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnation of his predecessors. Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama.
This is not the Dalai Lama's first trip to Charlottesville. In November of 1998, he was at UVA to take part in a conference of Nobel Peace Laureates.
Dalai Lama Charlottesville Visit Itinerary - October 11:
- 9:30am - 9:50am Police Escort to Paramount Theater
- 10:00am - 11:30am Lecture at Paramount on compassionate medical care in the 21st century; Dalai Lama will be joined by five top UVA experts
- 11:30am - 1:15pm Sequestered/Private Lunch
- 1:15pm - 1:30pm Police Escort to nTelos Pavilion
- 1:30pm - 3:00pm Lecture at Pavilion on Dalai Lama's latest book "Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World"
- 3:00pm - 3:20pm Police Escort to Undisclosed Location Outside City Limits
Photo Courtesy of Facebook
