Nobel Peace Prize winner ""His Holiness"" Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, will give a public talk at 2:30 p.m. in the Kohl Center in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 9,000 UW-Madison students, faculty and community members.
This week marks his fifth visit to UW-Madison in the last three decades.
""I anticipate it being very enlightening and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,"" said Robin Daniels, a UW-Madison sophomore. ""I stood outside for two hours to get tickets and it was cool to see how many students were willing to wait for the chance to see him.""
Christine Heise, a UW-Madison sophomore, said seeing His Holiness was an opportunity she did not want to miss.
""I think it will be a really good experience to hear such an important figure speak,"" Heise said.
The 72-year-old religious figure is committed not only to human values, such as compassion and forgiveness, but also to promoting religious harmony among the world's major religious traditions.
He is also responsible for acting as the free spokesperson for the Tibetan people in their struggle for justice. So far, a mutually beneficial solution has not been reached between the Tibetans and the Chinese.
Midwest Regional Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet Hilary Edwards expressed her excitement for His Holiness' visit, as well as her concern for the Tibetan people.
""We've been very vocal about raising the Tibetan flag above the City County Building and other city buildings out of respect for His Holiness' coming and immunity with the Tibetan people's struggle,"" Edwards said.
""There's a very large Tibetan community in Dane County and in Wisconsin and we certainly want to show our support for them,"" she added.
His Holiness plans to return to Madison in July 2008 for the opening ceremony and consecration of the new Deer Park temple.
The Dalai Lama visited UW-Madison in 1981 and again in 1989, the year in which he won his Nobel peace Prize. In May 1998, he addressed a large group at the Kohl Center where he was given an honorary doctoral degree from the university.
His most recent campus visit was in May 2001 when he met with a group of neuroscientists to discuss their research on the effects of meditation on brain function, emotions and physical health.
Gates for this afternoon's talk open at 1:30 p.m. Backpacks, cell phones and signs are not permitted and storage space is not available. Wisconsin Public Television will stream the Dalai Lama's address live at www.wpt.org.
