Dalai Lama visits UBS Arena, draws thousands of followers

Thousands of followers of the Dalai Lama converged on UBS Arena in Elmont on Thursday morning for an appearance by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

“It was wonderful, peaceful,” said Kunga Yarper, 53, who grew up as a nomadic herder in Tibet but is now a painter living in Salt Lake City. In the packed arena, Yarper mostly saw the Dalai Lama on screen, but he said that the experience had been well worth the trip.

“He is our spiritual leader,” Yarper said. “He teaches peace.”

Another attendee, Tenzin Wangchuk, 48, a taxi driver originally from Tibet now living in Woodside, Queens, said the entrance in the arena of the 89-year old Dalai Lama had left “everyone filled with joy. There were tears around me.”

Adherents believe the Dalai Lama, who traveled to upstate Syracuse earlier this summer for knee surgery, is the 14th incarnation of a Tibetan spiritual and political leader. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. He has been based in India since.

A news release from the Dalai Lama’s office described Thursday’s event as an opportunity for the Tibetan community of North America to offer “a prayer for his Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long life.” He was due to visit Zurich, Switzerland, before returning to India next week.

Newsday reporters were not permitted to enter the arena, but videos posted of the event on YouTube appeared to show the venue at or near its 19,000-person capacity. One video showed the Dalai Lama climbing onto an elaborate, elevated throne, with dozens of monks in saffron and maroon robes looking on. Thousands of attendees, many in traditional Himalayan dress, looked on from the stadium floor and elevated seating.

A 2020 study of the Tibetan diaspora by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government in exile, put the Tibetan population in the New York-New Jersey area at 13,000. The region is home to the largest concentration of Tibetans in North America, according to the study.

Outside the arena, Palden Tsewang, 34, of Elmhurst, Queens, who works in the hospitality industry, said attendees included Mongolians, Nepalis, Bhutanese and Chinese people. Many of them grew up revering the Dalai Lama and their prayers for his well-being were deeply felt, he said.

“We feel he is invincible, so when you see a person like him aging, it’s concerning,” he said.

“It’s a blessing to see him,” said Pasang Dondup, 27, a U.S. Army veteran and college student from Woodside. “He’s like our president for our lifetime, until his next incarnation comes to this world.”

Dondup, who moved to the United States from India 15 years ago, said he had met the Dalai Lama once before, as he prepared for deployment to Afghanistan.

“It gave me a calm, spiritual feeling,” he said. “It was like going to church, making my confession.”

Svetlana Sharapova, 40, a paralegal from Staten Island, said she had last seen the Dalai Lama when she was 6 and still living in the Russian republic of Kalmykia, where many of the Mongolian Kalmyk people follow the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

“It was a holy moment” that she was eager to repeat. “All of us are going to pray for his health,” she said. “He is our light.”

Attendees told Newsday they had paid $44 to $133.50 for tickets.

A spokesperson for UBS Arena did not comment. The office of the Dalai Lama did not comment.

The State Department, in an Aug. 21 news release, said Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Zeya had conveyed President Joe Biden’s best wishes for “His Holiness’s good health and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans and supporting efforts to preserve their distinct historical, linguistic, cultural, and religious heritage.”

To accommodate the crowds, the Long Island Rail Road  had several Main Line trains in both directions add stops at Elmont-UBS Arena.