The Dalai Lama emerged onto the stage at the Stan Sheriff Center while Michael McDonald and Henry Kapono were singing ”What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love.”

He strode toward Gov. Neil Aberbcrombie who is in the front row and grasped his hand. Also acknowledged were the governor’s wife, Nancie Caraway, and the sister of President Barack Obama, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

Now they’re showing a video of Jake Shimabukuro playing a song on the ukulele with three strings, without the C string.

All the musicians who had performed joined the Dalai Lama on stage. He presented each with a white Tibetan scarf, the same scarf he gave Native Hawaii panel members earlier in the day.

He knows how to create a photo moment, taking hold of the hands of the musicians next to him.

Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of the Hawaii Community Foundation, host and sponsor, takes the stage. He speaks of how we in Hawaii find a way to a more tolerant and civil society.

Here, our food, our language, our traditions, blend into chop suey, he says. 

Now Pierre Omidyar, publisher and CEO of Civil Beat and with his wife, Pam, the sponsor of this visit, introduces the Dalai Lama.

Points out that the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in the same year as Hawaii entered into statehood, 1959.

The Dalai Lama has been a refugee ever since. Today, he says, the Dalai Lama accepts that Tibet should remain a part of China. In 2011, he officially devolved his political leadership to an elected body, ending a tradition of dalai lamas holding responsibility for religious and temporal affairs.

Topic of today’s talk, Advancing Peace through the power of Aloha.

Finding peace can seem like a constant struggle. But here in Hawaii we’re blessed with a precious gift from the Native Hawaiian people. And that gift is Aloha.

Five qualities: kindness, unity, joyfulness, humility and patience.

Those are similar to Dalai Lama’s central themes.

Says the Dalai Lama is the embodiment of compassion and thanks him for being here.

The Dalai Lama moves to the podium.

He acknowledges the governor as a longtime friend.

We’re all human brothers and sisters. We’re all the same human being. Mentally, emotionally, physically, we are the same. So whenever I give a talk to people, I always feel I am just one of you. No differences. No barrier.

This kind of mental thinking is really helpful. Whenever I give a talk without notes, without preparation. One factor, I’m a lazy person. (laughter)  Another factor, whenever I meet people I feel I’m with my long time friend. It’s an immense help to maintain a calm mind.

I usually call the audience, brothers, sisters. I have been a few times here. This time having the opportunity meeting more people. Yesterday children. I feel some sort of meaningful day. Now here a public talk. I am very happy. My friend, in his introduction, gave a clear explanation of the meaning of aloha. Now I learned some sort of deeper meaning of aloha. Very helpful. Thank you.

Expressing the word aloha very easy. But implementing the real meaning of aloha, not easy. 

Basically, all beings want a happy life. Do not want disturbances. That is a basic right. All living things have a basic right to survive. Everyone, every piece has the right to survive.

Instinctively, we have the desire to achieve a happy life. Happiness, joyfulness is a result. Every result entirely depends on its own causes. I think joyfulness, happiness entirely depends on ones own action. Three levels. Physical. Verbal. Mental. Here mental action is the key factor. It’s quite logical.

In order to achieve successful life, we pay every attention about education or training. Education is the cause of successful life. Good health, taking medicine or some vitamins, is cause in order to achieve positive results. 

My study started as a 6 or 7 year-old. Till I was about 12 or 13, I had no interest in study. Only play. Study was something compulsory. When the time for study came, even the sun became darker. That kind of feeling. On a holiday, felt weather seemed brighter. At that time, no interest about study. Later I found, these sort of knowledge from study immensely helpful. For my case, mainly for peace of mind. Today’s peace of mind the goal. In order to achieve that my approach must be realistic approach. 

The very purpose of education is to reduce the gap between appearance and reality.

Prosperity must come through action, not prayer. Therefore, world peace must come through inner peace, at the individual level also. In order to have a happy life, inner peace very essential, including a healthy body. Healthy mind, healthy body. Healthy body very much linked with healthy mind.

Too much stress, too much anxiety, develops frustration, hopelessness, then anger, hatred.

Destructive emotion, such as anger, hatred, mainly come through mental thinking. One American scientist I met a few years at Stockholm in Sweden. He told me when we develop anger, the object which we feel angry, that object appears very negative. Actually, 90 percent of that negativeness is mental projection.

Through training of mind, try to develop proper mental attitude. Any attitude based on mental projection is unrealistic. Any decision under strong emotion often becomes wrong. Because much emotion is actually a biased view. Through the view, you cannot see the reality. 

Now the question, recently the global economic crisis. I asked some of my friends. These people involved in money matters, they must be expert about that. So can these experts be wrong about money matters? So I asked some of these people, what’s wrong. Their answer: Too much greed. Too much greed is unrealistic desire. Then, too much speculation.

The economic crisis ultimately our mind. These policies, differences of countries. Of course Mr. Bush, I really love him. Really nice person. Describes getting Congressional Gold Medal. Nancy Pelosi also there. Mr. Bush whispered too me, they always create problems for me. But today we are peaceful. (laughter) Mr. Bush on a human level really nice person. I love him. I respect him. But that does not mean I fully agree with all his policies. (applause)

After the Iraq crisis, meeting with him, I expressed, I love you but some of your policies I have some reservations. He nodded. Iraq crisis. His motivation is very good. To bring democracy. Rule of law. Very good. But method become unrealistic. So fail to achieve that noble goal. 

At any level, unrealistic method never bring satisfactory result.

So how to bring inner peace?

What is the real basis of inner peace? It’s warmheartedness. Once we develop warmheartedness, that means consider all others just like myself. Every one has the right just like me to achieve happy life. With that kind of attitude, automatically develop respect.

Through that type of mental attitude, fear no basis. 

Once you become closer to your neighbor, anxiety is reduced, distrust reduced. More compassionate feeling toward others. That is an immense help to reduce fear. 

Love and compassion, no longer distrust.

Of course this is not something realistic. Not blind love. Utilize human intelligence. Research. Investigate. That’s compassion combined with wisdom.

Love, compassion, wisdom there are two levels. One level is physical. Always mixing with attached. Always emotion. Always becomes one-sided, biased. However that biological factor of compassion is a seed. Utilize human intelligence. Use our common sense. And most important, scientific findings. It brings inner peace. Peaceful family. Peaceful community. That also brings good health.

All major religious traditions carry this practice. But without religious belief we can develop universal compassion, through education.

Talks of Northern Ireland, a rubber bullet hitting the forehead of Richard Moore. He lost his sight. When he came to in the hospital, he thought of not seeing his mother’s face. Not anger. Not hatred. Because of that attitude, very happy life. Eventually he found a very happy wife. Daughter. Even with such a tragedy, he still remained a calm mind. Not develop anger, frustration. He furthered his education. I always describe him as my hero. Really wonderful. He’s not religiously minded. But as human being he developed that kind of attitude. Result a tremendous benefit. Later he tried to find the British soldier who shot him. Both of them become very close friends. We have that kind of ability. These positive mental attitude not at all based on religious belief. I usually call secular ethics. Secular way. Without touching religion. That I think is quite crucial. Many people essentially are non-believers. Not much care about religious teaching. Even though some of them claim I am Christian, I am Hindu, I am Jew. We really need a universal way to approach this universal value. If we rely on religious faith, it will never be universal. 

Through education, from kindergarten through university level, we have to find ways and means to make aware of these universal values. 

The 20 century a wonderful century. But that century became a century of bloodshed. 

There’s no other way but to try to build this century as a century of dialogue, peace. 

We must find how to tackle when we face problems, not use force, but through talk, with respect, listen to others’ point of view. That’s the only way.

In order to do that, you must have will power to talk. And then you need wisdom to know the reality about others’ interest and one’s own interest.

Combination of wisdom and will power, I think we can develop this century as a century of peace through dialogue. (applause)

In your family, whenever you face some problems, try to find some solution through some mutually agreeable way. 

Education about the value of non-violence. Adopt one school as an experiment. Then after five years, examine the experiment. If positive result, then 10 more schools, or 100 schools. You can expand that way. That’s the way to change the way of thinking in our society. Through that way you can build a happy, peaceful society. The initiative must come from the individual. 

The problem is created by human beings themselves. The answer must be found from human beings. The answer must come from individual. Don’t feel helplessness. Create inner peace. And share with more people. Your friend. And then your enemy. That’s the way to transform our world.

The Dalai Lama now accepts questions.