The Dalai Lama lols.

I had heard it said that when you're in the same room as the Dalai Lama, you feel it. An energy, a peace, an aura. This is a being so enlightened, apparently, that his presence is palpable, and washes over you like a wave of calm.

This, I discovered, is not the case - but that turned out to be a good thing.

It was a grey, windy afternoon at the Stade Uniprix (normally used for tennis tournaments) in Montreal. The stadium was about a quarter full, and we were perched far back from the small stage. The modest turnout may have been due to the fact that it was Wednesday, or that the event wasn't widely publicised - but we were glad, especially when the organiser asked everyone to come down from the cheaper seats and crowd closer to the podium where His Holiness was soon to appear.

There were people of all ages, shapes and colours, and sprinkled amongst the audience were native Tibetans, in beautiful traditional dress. After an introduction from Montreal hockey star Georges Laraque, a number of them took to the stage for some traditional Tibetan dance, which was interesting but felt somehow a little out of place; you were left feeling that the group, twirling and singing, their small voices lost on the wind, should be performing on some snow-capped mountaintop in Lhasa, rather than a makeshift stage in Montreal, amongst potted plants and banners for cellphone companies.

The second performer however, a nomad musician from northern Tibet, was stunning. As soon as he plucked the first few strings on his instrument, the crowd fell silent. The words, we were told, were political. The notes were pure sadness. And his voice was haunting. A string of prayer flags fluttered behind him and we closed our eyes and were transported to the elevated plateaus of the Himalayas. It was impossible not to think of the plight of the Tibetan people as he sang his heart out so far from his homeland.

Back to the hulking figure of Laraque, who seemed extremely conscious of the enormity of introducing one of the most recognised people in the world. "Small in stature, big in smile..." he began, and a ripple of excitement went through the small crowd. "His Holiness The Dalai Lama says: My religion is simple. My religion is compassion." (It was like he was trying to include some of the DL's soundbites in case the man himself didn't deliver). He mentioned the "sword of compassion" and how important the famous Buddhist's words were on this, the tenth anniversary of 9/11. We were getting restless, and everything had to be translated into French.

Finally, "Ladies and Gentlemen, his holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet!" Applause. Shivers of anticipation.

Nothing.

His Holiness was running a little late.

Some sat down again, some fingered prayer beads. Some of us wondered where we could find food. Laraque looked embarrased.

Eventually, the black car pulls up in the distance beyond the stage, and the tiny figure bundled in swathes of crimson fabric gets out, surrounded by some very serious looking security in well-fitting suits, sharp ties and curly pieces of plastic in their ears.

Let's just be honest - it's very hard not to think of Yoda when you see the famous leader of the Buddhist faith (or at least a branch of it - let's not get technical). I'm not sure who copied whose style but right down to the wardrobe and the strange sentence structure - these two were separated at birth.

Anyway, in a wonderfully human gesture, the fourteenth Dalai Lama left the expectant audience standing and clapping as he took time to gather himself and fix his robe, then shuffled down the concrete to the armchair in the middle of the stage, which made it feel a little like we had called into his living room for a visit. The perfect host, he had the large flowerpots moved (chuckling all the time) so that the press could get clear shots.

"Ok, siddown" he beamed, and waved his hand to settle us down.
"SO" - big deep breath, hands clasped, eyebrows raised, ready for a chat.

For over an hour, the Tibetan leader talked about everything from the importance of staying healthy to the treatment of First Nations peoples. He spoke purposefully, with pauses, so that at the beginning, everyone was hanging on his every word.

His English was stilted, which I thought was strange for a man who had spoken so often, and was definitely not lacking in teachers who would give up all earthly possessions for the chance to tutor him. But I later realised that in fact, his broken English was just right for the job. Sparse and economical, he concentrated on the most important words, and kept our attention as we occasionally had to fill in the blanks ourselves!

However, a combination of long trains of thought, his particular style of English and a thick Indian-sounding accent meant he did lose me now and again, but then a hearty little chuckle ("So we lost our country, hehehehe") brought us all right back.

That's probably the main thing I took from the afternoon with the Dalai Lama. Not any words of wisdom or comforting platitudes per se, but the fact that the most enlightened being in the world finds himself hilarious. And when he giggles, you cannot help but laugh right along with him, even if you have no idea what the punchline is (in fact, there usually isn't one). Maybe this is the key to inner peace and happiness - enjoying a good chuckle at whatever you happen to say. It definitely keeps things nice and light, and if a man who has been forced to leave his home, relinquish his position, and deal with journalists and the sick, sad and crippled every day can laugh out loud so frequently - then really, couldn't we crack a smile a little more often?

Needless to say, there were some very wise words which echoed round the stadium yesterday - here were some of my favourites:

On looking out for number one: "Ok, sure, be selfish. (Hehehe). But be 'wise selfish', not 'foolish selfish'. You can take care of yourself, that's important. But we must not forget to take care of others too."

On getting along: "Forget the 'I'm different'. We all just humans. I'm Asian, I'm Tibetan - minor difference! Small nose, big nose (like this guy, hehehehe) white hair, brown hair, everybody want happy life! Everybody has same right to be happy human being! Clap." [I'm pretty sure he did actually instruct to applaud that one]. "All same. No difference. We must build The Big We. Not us and them. Big We."

On the topic for his talk: "What's the title of this talk?" [interpreter whispers something about global citizenship through universal responsibility] "Oh yes, hehehehe. They give me these titles and I have to try to follow them!"

On global citizenship: "In 1973 I travel to Europe first time. Journalist ask me: why did you come to Europe?" I say "I am a citizen of the world - I want to see more of it! Young generation: visit other countries, broaden your view. Consider others as a part of you. Costa Rica - no military, better economy, better education! Many African countries - lots of tanks, no food.
When there are no barriers it's very easy to communicate. Have no fear, try to look from another angle."

Speaking to the Anglican Bishop in the audience: "Me and you, maybe we have different beliefs, ok. But both teach love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, self-discipline - no difference! Ok, some religions, silly practice. Chanting for hours, or using religion as excuse for violence. But most of us believe the same thing. We want loving kindness. I'm just another human being. My happy life very much depends on other people."


On fighting: "Ok, we fight, we argue, doesn't matter! In the family - ok, normal! Like me and my brother. Quite stupid, hehehe. My weapon was my nails, and I used them on his face!" [This cracked him up]. But the fighting we have in the world now... If the fighting and suffering brought a better world, ok. But that's not the case."

On seeing the bright side: "We lost our country, ok. But it woke up the Tibetan people. We had thousands of years of certain negative thinking, but this woke up the Tibetan people, shook up their minds. I became a refugee, but that brought opportunities for travel, to meet new people, learn new things."

On feeling sad: "Remember, millions of people have had the same experiences as you. You are not alone."

On taking action: "Nothing will be solved by prayer alone. For a thousand years we prayed to Buddha, but then we lost our country! Hehehehe! Everything depends on our own actions. We must do things for change to happen."

Nothing mind-boggling, no inspirational light bulb moment, but some very important reminders, and punctuated by that lovely laugh! Before he left, he presented long white scarves to the organisers, and touched noses with those on stage: "my favourite Maori tradition!" (A great moment when it was Laraque's turn, a huge back man with long braids, rubbing noses with this tiny swaddled Tibetan!) In turn, his holiness was presented with a tennis raquet (?!) - and cracked us all up as he gigglingly tried to bounce a ball on it.

So yes, he's a very wise man, and very happy - but also very human. He talked about how his father had a very short temper growing up, about how the Chinese could be very narrow-minded. He struggled with some words and didn't quite understand some questions. He tucked his arms inside his deep red robe when the breeze picked up.

I was glad the fourteenth Dalai Lama came across more ordinary than I expected. It makes you feel that inner peace and happiness are not so out of reach for the rest of us - that we could all be mini-Buddhas one day.
We just need practice.