T

matter that he was a great spiritual leader, the former head of the Tibetan
nation, and the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion to the
devout; at this moment, he was the host, and he was concerned with
whether his guests were happy with the meal.
“Thank you very much,” the Archbishop said. “Thank you for
welcoming us and thank you for the lunch and thank you for putting all
those people along the road to welcome us.” He laughed. “The soup is
delicious.”
I have never seen Archbishop Tutu miss an opportunity to thank
someone or appreciate what he has been given. He will often stop an
entire production or an event to acknowledge all that are present.
“This soup is beautiful,” the Archbishop said, fending off the monks
who were trying to serve him more food. Everyone else was almost
through with their meals, and he was still sipping his soup. “It’s lovely.
Please, please, this is all I’m going to have. I’m going later on to the
dessert—I mean—the fruit salad.” Then seeing that ice cream was now
being offered, he laughed. “Yes, okay, maybe a little ice cream.” He was
swaying his head from side to side, balancing his health on the one side
and his sweet tooth on the other. The Archbishop is a big fan of ice
cream, especially rum raisin, and when he stayed with Rachel and me, his
office kindly told us his food preferences: chicken instead of fish, rum
and Coke—now given up for those pesky health reasons—and rum raisin
ice cream. Rum raisin ice cream was not an easy flavor to find outside of
the holidays, but we finally found a gallon container in the deep freezer
of an ice cream warehouse. The Archbishop had three well-enjoyed bites
for one dessert, and we ate the rest of the gallon for months.

•           •           •

he conversation transitioned to the topics of bringing together their
two religious traditions, the great challenge of religious conflict, and
the need for tolerance. The Dalai Lama began by saying it’s not possible
for everyone to be a Christian or a Buddhist. “There’s no other choice but
for followers of the world’s religions to accept the reality of other faiths.