Foundation of peace

He replied, "I don’t know.”

Marsha Clark thinks that’s a pretty enlightened answer.

"Happiness is where you find it,” said the program coordinator for The Dalai Lama Foundation.

And while Clark and foundation president Tenzin N. Tethong agree that happiness has no specific location for everybody, the same can’t be said for their organization. The foundation, whose members include the likes of actor Richard Gere as well as noted scholars and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, is headquartered on a quiet, peaceful cul-de-sac in Redwood City.

The innocuous second-story office might initially seem odd surrounded by apartment buildings and just down the street from a Jiffy Lube and Caffino, Clark said it has served them well since moving from a different site on the Peninsula. The single room is a mixture of expected office accouterments — fax machines, pens, computer — with walls and bookshelves dedicated to the Dalai Lama. He smiles down from one portrait, holds court with President Barack Obama and shines from a framed Life magazine cover. While the office may not be what one expects at the outset of a foundation dedicated to exploring and promoting the values of an international spiritual leader, Clark said it is the hub from which she helps spread the word and inform new friends.

Clark and Tethong use the word friends because they think "member” implies a formality that includes fundraising efforts that, while worthwhile and ultimately necessary, aren’t the primary focus.

Finding a focus was the first hurdle a decade ago. In Spring 2001, a core group of about 20 began meeting in anticipation of the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Bay Area and shared ideas about how to apply their collective skills to furthering his work.

One of these founders is Tethong, currently the chair of the Committee of 100 for Tibet and a former representative of the Dalai Lama in New York and Washington, D.C.

In 2002, the foundation began with the blessing of the holy leader.

"Although I have little personal interest in launching new organizations or centers, I am happy to endorse and lend my name to this effort because it promises to try to put into action many of the ideas for peace that I support,” he wrote in a May 20, 2003 letter to the foundation.

The Dalai Lama has only two other institutions set up on his own initiative, one a trust to channel financial aid to Tibetan refugees, and The Foundation for Universal Responsibility of his Holiness the Dalai Lama, New Delhi.

The letter, and his endorsement, are a source of pride at the foundation which uses modern technology to spread a principle with much more ancient roots — basic goodness as human beings.

Peace and ethics

While interest in the Dalai Lama can also reach into the areas of Buddhism and Tibet, those who founded the nonprofit foundation opted to narrow its scope to peace and ethics — two realms Tethong says transcend religion and politics. Rather than defining a single right path, the foundation’s goal is to work internationally on how those of different faiths and cultures live together while promoting happiness and human development.

While the name "Dalai Lama” may be well-known — the man even has his own Twitter account now — defining exactly who he is and what he stands for may not come as easily.

The short answer is the Dalai Lama is a lineage of Tibetan Buddhist officials, thought to be reborn and serving to enlighten others. Since 1959, following China assuming control of Tibet, the Dalai Lama has been in exile and traveling internationally. In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, thereby making himself even more widely known.

Clark, Tethong and their peers believe their work gives the curious a place to find the answers not about the Dalai Lama’s biography but the values they say are applicable to all.

The foundation’s first effort was a study guide for the book "Ethics for the New Millennium” by the Dalai Lama. The guide, developed in 2004 by the Los Altos Study Group which includes Clark, includes questions and prompts to start discussion for those new to the teachings and those who are continually learning.

"You can definitely read the book on your own but we wanted to give people something to help them think about it and discuss it with others,” Clark said.

The guide is available on the foundation Web site for study circles and has since been re-invented by specialized groups to reflect their needs.

Case in point is a guide rewritten by Texas prisoners. Study questions include, "In prison, what problems are of our own making?”

Clark said other efforts to rewrite the guide for students of all ages and children are also in the works.

The foundation followed the guide with the curriculum for The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, an exhibit of pieces inspired by the man. On a book showcasing the exhibits, a young Asian girl peers out, fire red hair streaming down straight.

The artist interpreted his belief the Dalai Lama will next be reincarnated as a young girl, Clark said.

International reach

Other programs include helping with school-based initiatives, like the one that brought Mount Madonna students from the Santa Cruz mountains to visit the Dalai Lama in India and world-wide efforts like Project Happiness. The Palo Alto-based project aims to make happiness possible for all, promoting a 195-page student handbook with more than 20 exercises written by kids for kids to help them figure out their own definition.

"People think they have to start big to save the world or make a difference. The Dalai Lama shows us that it starts with us,” Clark said.  

Although it is physically in Redwood City, the foundation has an international reach through its own initiatives and partnerships. There are schools in Nigeria, study groups in Russia, committees in Canada, a peace academy in San Mateo — just to name a few. And in between, people who want to know more. Some of these people contact the foundation expecting to explore Tibet or Buddhism but Clark said she gently steers them to better-suited organizations.

Others are like Clark herself, becoming a fan and eventually a paid staff member after being invited to hear the Dalai Lama speak.

With the Dalai Lama scheduled to appear at Stanford University in the fall, Clark is excited that others will have the opportunity to hear for themselves the words that inspired her and the others who made the foundation a reality.

"He shows us the art of happiness and he is just inspiring,” Clark said.

But in this era of modern technology, instant gratification and fast-paced changes, why make room for the Dalai Lama?

Good question, according to Tethong.

"He gives us universal ideas — that’s why I think people love him so much. And regardless of your faith or your other beliefs, he teaches us how to be a good person,” he said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.