The Breath Is Everything

Six monks in burgundy robes were seated in six high-backed imitation Louis XIV chairs in a room at the Watergate Hotel. The year was 1984. The center chair was occupied by the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s 14th incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion and one of the most famous religious figures on the planet. The Dalai Lama was on a globe-girdling tour to show that though he lived in exile in India, he was engaged in world affairs and was actively supporting the Tibetan people, who were living under the ruthless thumb of China.