3,000 people attended Dalai Lama's appearance at Minneapolis Convention Center

Crowd visited the Minneapolis Convention Center just to get a glimpse of one man, the Dalai Lama.

On Sunday morning, nearly 3,000 people attended the Dalai Lama's appearance to listen to his short talk and for the Tibetan New Year celebrations. Since the March 2014 New Year, it was the first time that the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists visited the Twin Cities.

There had been concerns over the Dalai Lama’s health since he went to Mayo Clinic in Rochester in January. While talking to the crowd, he said that he'd been getting treatment for prostate issues there for a decade and assured everybody that he is healthy and well.

The Dalai Lama was attired in saffron and red robes and was seating in an ¬elaborately carved chair. He didn’t directly talk about the epidemic of gun violence or current politics.

Instead, he talked regarding the value of humility, education, compassion and the duty of the elders and adult Tibetans of passing on the culture and religion of his homeland to the next generation. He addressed the crowd in English and Tibetan.

A number of Tibetans in the crowd were wearing traditional dress, known as chupa, and had infants in their laps or wrangled young children. Some, periodically, went into the aisles for traditional prayers.

Heidi White of Stillwater brought her 14-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, Caroline. She said that her motive of bringing her children along was that she wanted to expose the children to various ways of thinking and of worshiping.

Yangzom Yarphel of Minneapolis said that her family always comes to see the Dalai Lama whenever he visits the town. She said, “He teaches compassion. His teachings, it's very important to our family”.