The Book of Joy

world, we are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day. So
let’s start giving.”
They waved their arms above their heads together as the Archbishop
got up to dance his irrepressible, elbow-waving boogie. He encouraged
the Dalai Lama to get up and dance. As a Tibetan Buddhist monk, the
Dalai Lama’s vows prohibit dancing, but today he got up to dance for the
first time in his life. He started to sway and rock his hands back and forth.
At first as uncomfortable as a middle school boy on the dance floor, the
Dalai Lama started to smile and laugh as the Archbishop encouraged him.
They took each other’s hands and moved to the music, celebrating the
true joy of friendship, the true joy of our unbreakable connection to one
another, the true joy of the world coming together as one.
Behind them sewn into the tent were two Tibetan endless knots,
symbols for the impermanence and interdependence of all life and the
union of wisdom and compassion. Between the knots was an image of
two golden fish with large eyes, which represents sentient beings crossing
the ocean of existence with the clear sight of wisdom as well as the
fearlessness of not drowning in the ocean of suffering.
The song finished, and then the Archbishop began to sing, forcing his
usual tenor into a deep and resonant bass: “Happy birthday to you . . .
happy birthday to you . . . happy birthday, dear Your Holiness . . . happy
birthday to you . . .”
This was followed by “Happy Birthday” sung in Tibetan as the Dalai
Lama tried to wave out the candles, which had by now burned down so
low that the cake was starting to catch fire.
“Wait, wait,” the Archbishop said, encouraging him not to put out the
small fire that was starting to burn on top of the cake but to blow it out
properly. “Can we have one or two of the children help us blow out the
candles? There we go.” Two little girls, one in her school uniform and an
even younger and tinier one, in pigtails and a green dress, were raised
onto the stage between them.
“One, two, three.” They blew out the candles, but then the trick
candles relit. The Archbishop let out a cackle as they blew again and then
the flames came back. But on the third time, as the Archbishop laughed,