The Dalai Lama descended on South Florida to deliver five days of public teachings. When asked for the purpose of life, he said, "I don't know." Furthermore, before launching a two-hour lecture on achieving world peace through inner peace, the exiled monarch said he had nothing to say. "I think most of you have come here perhaps with some expectation. I have nothing to offer, I just show my face and teeth."

Gayle certainly did not mind his face and teeth: "Just being in his presence," she said, "is a wonderful feeling. He is so, so special."

As for happy feelings, the self-complacent Dalai Lama remarked, "Happiness is not necessarily the feeling of pleasure, but a deep satisfaction within oneself."

Of course the Dalai Lama delivered the tradition message, offered as balm for the world's burning wounds since time immemorial: the message of love and compassion for one's fellow creatures. War will be rendered obsolete providing that we negate negative emotions and cultivate gentility: "Until our mind becomes gentler, the human intelligence always finds some means of violence," quoth the Dalai Lama.

In other words, individual animosity is the cause of the world's social ills. Like father like son; rather, like cause like effect: negative attitudes cause negative effects. Wherefore an individual, given the present hostile negative mental state of society, has just cause to change his mood from animosity to generosity, to disengage his mind from the ignorant pursuit of those desires which can never be satisfied by the possession of objects.

Such gospel from the mouths of self-satisfied savants rings true , especially for those of us suffering from "negative" or unpleasant emotions, especially anger. We would rather feel good, would we not? We do not enjoy being angry. We wish we did not have sufficient cause for our anger.

We have a great deal of criticism to offer in respect to the approach of the Dalai Lama. But before offering that criticism, it is best to reflect his wonderful presence and restore some calm to our stormy souls, at least for a few hours if not days.