The message from the Dalai Lama baffled Lama Tenzin Dhonden, a Buddhist monk living in San Diego. Then Dhonden deciphered the note — and grew alarmed.
This quiet, self-effacing man had been appointed “personal emissary for peace for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
“I didn’t know that vocabulary,” said Dhonden, 51, in clear but accented English. “‘Emissary?’ I looked in the dictionary. That is a huge responsibility!”
A decade later, this emissary — n., a representative sent on a mission or errand — still faces overwhelming responsibilities. Annually, Dhonden organizes a half dozen conferences for one of the world’s most revered spiritual leaders. He vets all speakers, whether rabbis, bishops or imams; rock stars or governors; winners of Nobels or Oscars. Do their values reflect the Dalai Lama’s tenets of compassion and kindness?