Dalai Lama returns to Madison May 4

His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, will speak at the Kohl Center on Friday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m. The event will mark the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s fifth visit to the Madison campus in the last three decades.

There will be 4,000 tickets available for UW–Madison students free of charge. They will be distributed at the McGinnis Family Athletic Ticket Office at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Any remaining tickets will be distributed on Monday, Feb. 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students will need to show their UW–Madison ID in order to obtain their tickets and will be limited to two apiece.

Approximately 5,000 tickets for the general public, including UW–Madison faculty and staff, will go on sale on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $23 per ticket, with a limit of four tickets per order.

The general public tickets may be purchased at the Athletic Ticket Office at 1440 Monroe St., over the phone by calling (608) 262-1440 (1-800-GO-BADGERS).

All tickets ordered online or over the phone will be subject to a $2 per ticket convenience fee. A lottery will be conducted for all patrons who come in person to the Athletic Ticket Office to purchase tickets on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 27. Patrons who wish to participate in the lottery for the first chance to purchase tickets should arrive at the Athletic Ticket Office between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m.

The Dalai Lama also will visit the new temple being built at the Deer Park Buddhist Center in rural Oregon and conduct four teaching sessions at the Alliant Energy Center’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum. For ticket information and a schedule of the teachings, go to www.deerparkcenter.org.

His Holiness plans to return to the Madison area in July 2008 for the opening ceremony and consecration of Deer Park’s new temple.

He visited UW–Madison in 1981 and again in 1989, the year in which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. In May 1998, he addressed a large audience at the Kohl Center and received an honorary degree from the university.

His most recent visit to campus was in May 2001 when he met with a group of neuroscientists who conduct research on the effects of meditation on brain function, emotions and physical health. Dr. Richard Davidson, director of the Keck Laboratory of Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior at the Waisman Center, organized the conference, which was co-sponsored by the university’s HealthEmotions Research Institute and the Mind and Life Institute of Boulder, Colo.