Lady Gaga And Dalai Lama Discuss The Current State Of Humanity At Conference Of Mayors
Lady Gaga and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama sat down to discuss violence, compassion, kindness, and tolerance. The interview was moderated by journalist, Ann Curry who sat to the right of the Dalai Lama. Gaga and the Dalai Lama talked about hope, compassion, and the power of kindness. The two clasped hands at the beginning and end of the interview, according to the Daily Mail.
The discussion was filmed backstage at The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) 84th Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. The two public figures joked with one another during the 20-minute meeting. The Dalai Lama even displayed a sense of humor a few times. At one point, His Holiness paused to retrieve something from his bag: a small “city of kindness” button the mayor had given him years ago. The Dalai Lama emphasized the importance of resolving conflict through words.
“Now (the) 21st century should be (the) century of talk.”
Lady Gaga, real name, Stefani Germanotta, added, “You can’t fight fire with fire…It makes no sense. You only make more fire.
Germanotta began the Facebook Live discussion by thanking His Holiness for taking the time to speak with her and mentioned that she is very grateful to hear his perspective and philosophy on the world. Lady Gaga then asked the Dalai Lama questions submitted by various people.
“How do you help young people address issues of poor self-esteem, managing eating disorders, addiction, self-harm and suicide?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKfPM1jqdnc
The Dalai Lama and Lady Gaga On Compassion
The Dalai discussed the importance of having a sense of concern and compassion for others.
“When you show more sense of concern for others’ well being, then you also get the feeling ‘I am something useful to others.’ That brings more self-confidence and meaningful life. Otherwise, you become lonely … feel helpless, discouraged.”
Philip Anschutz, entrepreneur and philanthropist, tells The Indy Star what went through his head while on stage with Lady Gaga and The Dalai Lama.
“What’s on my mind at this very moment is how unlikely this trio is sitting here. You have the leader of one of the world’s great religions. You have a world-class entertainer. And then you have this obscure businessman.”
“I’m one 81-year-old person with quite a lot of experiences. My experiences much bigger than your experiences.”
Lady Gaga joked to the spiritual leader, “You didn’t know this, but I’m much older than you,” joked Gaga. The pop star and the spiritual leader laughed.
Lady Gaga and Dalai Lama On Humanity
“How can I still feel at peace with so much horror in this wonderful world. I need peace of mind. I’m losing it.”
The Dalai Lama revealed it’s all about perspective, The Wrap reports. “When some problem happens, if you look closely, it appears unbearable. The same problem, looked [at] from distance and wider perspective, then yes, ‘there a problem I have to face,’ but there are other very positive things … so I should not feel a loss of hope.”
The Dalai Lama offers advice on how to be hopeful when discouraged, USA Today reports.
“Once (a) tragic situation happens, not avoid– (but) look at more deeply, widely. Many positive, happy things are there if you look (from a) wider perspective. If you look real closely, it appears unbearable. But if you look widely (you see) other positive things there.”
Lady Gaga posted a photo to her Instagram account of her gazing out a window with a caption that reads, “Kindness is a free currency from a well that will never dry up.#cityofkindness#kindyouth#usmc2016#withcompassion.”
[Photos by Michael Conroy/AP Photo]
